Occlusal Register - Kern County Dental Society · technology company Symantec, 59 percent of small...
Transcript of Occlusal Register - Kern County Dental Society · technology company Symantec, 59 percent of small...
Occlusal Register
Official Publication of the Kern County Dental Society, a Component of the California & American Dental Associations
President’s Report Kurt Sturz, DDS
March/April 2017
Mission Statement
It is the mission of the Kern County Dental Society to be the recognized source for serving the needs and issues of its members while assist-ing them in their service to the pub-lic.
Vision
KCDS membership is comprised of all dentists who share its core val-ues and Code of Ethics, working together, cooperating in preventing oral disease and providing care for all in need.
Core Values
Integrity ~ Ethics Leadership ~ Inclusiveness Professionalism ~ Service
Education ~ Responsibility All statements of opinion and sup-posed fact are published on the au-thority of the author under whose name they might appear and are not to be regarded as the views of the Kern County Dental Society unless such statement has been adopted by the KCDS Board of Directors. Ac-ceptance of advertising does not imply approval or endorsement by the Kern County Dental Society of products or services advertised herein.
930 Truxtun Ave, Suite 101 Bakersfield CA 93301 Phone: (661) 843-7715 Fax: (661) 843-7717
E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.kerncountyds.org
The Kern County Dental Society
is a proud component of the California Dental Association & the
American Dental Association
As you know, membership in the Kern County Dental Associ-
ation is a tripartite membership. As such, we are all members
of the CDA and the ADA. I would encourage our entire
membership to visit www.cda.org and read about some of
their recent developments. Of particular interest is the re-
cent settlement that CDA achieved in the Delta legal ac-
tion. Additionally, you will find incredibly helpful links to a
myriad of resources available to us all. Finally, I would en-
courage you to visit the CDA Foundation website (there is a
tab at the top of the CDA homepage that will take you
there). Information on the upcoming CDA Care Clinics are
found there, including the link to volunteer. The next CDA
Cares clinic will be April 22-23 in San Mateo. Volunteers are
still needed and are always appreciated. Please consider serv-
ing at this clinic, as it would be excellent preparation for the
fall CDA Cares event that will be hosted here in Bakersfield
at the Kern County Fairgrounds October 6-7. This will be a
Friday and Saturday event. Please mark your calendars.
There are number of local KCDS events coming up very
soon. There will be a new members luncheon on March 21st
at noon at Benjis Basque Restaurant and the first study club
of 2017 on March 29th at 6pm will be held at The Bakersfield
Racquet Club.
Finally, I want to make it known that members are welcome
to attend the KCDS board meetings. Our next meeting is
scheduled for Tuesda,y March 14th. If you have any interest
in attending, please contact Shannon Ford, our Executive Di-
rector. The vitality of our component depends on the partici-
pation of our membership and we would love to see more ac-
tive participation in our society.
Mar / Apr 2017
News & Notes
CDA Presents Anaheim registration opens early
December Reprinted with permission from California Dental
Association
Registration opens the first week of December for
CDA Presents The Art and Science of Dentistry,
which is coming to Anaheim May 4-6, 2017. Den-
tists, dental hygienists and dental students can reg-
ister online for the convention, which will feature
stimulating continuing education, world-renowned
speakers and hundreds of innovative dental prod-
ucts and services, including many newly launched
products.
The CDA Presents team scouts national dental
meetings to create a speaker circuit designed to
keep dentists on the leading edge of dentistry. Be-
sides taking advantage of the many C.E. course of-
ferings and roaming the 135,000-square-foot exhib-
it hall, attendees will enjoy countless opportunities
to network.
Dentists and other attendees can download the
CDA Journal ePub app at cda.org/apps to view the
CDA Presents Program, which includes descrip-
tions of courses, information on featured speakers
and more. The print version of the CDA Presents
Program will be packaged with the January issue of
the Journal of the California Dental Association.
Watch for that issue in mailboxes the first week of
January.
To register or learn more about CDA Presents,
visit cdapresents.com/Anaheim2017. Copyright © 2016
California Dental Association
Mark your calendars for CDA Cares San Mateo
A CDA Cares volunteer dental clinic is scheduled
April 22-23, 2017, at the San Mateo Event Center.
To help provide oral health care services at no
charge to the large number of expected patients, the
CDA Foundation needs volunteer dentists, includ-
ing oral surgeons, as well as dental hygienists, as-
sistants, dental lab technicians, physicians, nurses
and pharmacists. Additionally, community volun-
teers are needed to help escort patients, translate/
interpret, dispense medication, set up and tear down
the clinic, register patients and volunteers, conduct
exit interviews, enter data and provide oral health
education. The main goal of the clinic is to relieve
pain and eliminate infection by providing cleanings,
fillings, extractions and oral health education to
approximately 2,000 people during the two-day
event. Volunteer registration will open in January.
For more information, visit cdafoundation.org/
sanmateo.
The Taft Dental Hygiene Program is looking for
patients. Particularly those with perio case types 2
& 3 and those with moderate to heavy deposits. The
students are able to perform analog and digital x-
rays. Appointments are approximately 1/2 day, 8 -
12 or 1-5. The fee is $20.00 per patient, no extra
charge for x-rays. The x-rays can be forwarded to
their regular dentist. The program is not trying to
take money out of the dental community but they
do need patients to hone their skills on. Please send
a referral or two their way.
Requirement to submit Assurance of Compli-
ance form Reprinted with permission from California Dental Association
Dental practices that are required to comply with
Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act must com-
plete and submit to the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services the Assurance of Compliance
form. HHS 690 is a statement that the recipient of
federal financial assistance is in compliance not
only with the ACA’s Section 1557, but with: Title
VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title IX of the Edu-
cation Amendments of 1972; and The Age Discrim-
ination Act of 1975.
The applicant “provides this assurance in considera-
tion of and for the purpose of obtaining federal
grants, loans, contracts, property, discounts or other
federal financial assistance from the U.S. Depart-
ment of Health and Human Services.”
For more details about Section 1557, see the arti-
cles in the September and December 2016 issues of
the CDA Update.
HHS 690 can be downloaded at hhs.gov/sites/
default/files/hhs-690.pdf, then completed and
mailed to the address listed on the form. Alterna-
tively, the form can be completed and submitted
online at https://ocrportal.hhs.gov/ocr/aoc/ Copyright
© 2016 California Dental Association
Mar / Apr 2017
Small Businesses Increasingly Targeted by Cybercriminals Reprinted with permission from California Dental Association
Leadership President
Dr. Kurt Sturz
President-Elect
Dr. Jared Simpson
Secretary-Treasurer
Dr. Marshall Chey
Immediate Past-
President
Dr. Jared Gianquinto
Trustee
Dr. Brenda Buzby
Editor
Dr. Nicole Watson
Board of Directors
Dr. Paul Mallouk
Dr. Maziyar Ghalambor
Dr. Thomas Stewart
Dr. Scott Tangeman
Dr. Robert Reed
Dr. Olena Norris
Dr. Scott Wallace
Dr. Andrew Dreyer
Dr. Brian Danielsson
(Ridgecrest)
Dr. Cameron Hopkins
(Bishop)
Committee Chairs
Access to Care
Dr. Robert Reed
Advocacy
Dr. Scott Wallace
Ethics
Dr. Robert Reed
Leadership
Dr. Jared Simpson
Mass Disaster
Dr. Robert Reed
Membership
Dr. Dana Yeoman
Study Club
Dr. Jared Gianquinto
Peer Review
Dr. Perry Jue
The National Cyber Security Alliance in a recent infographic cites a surprising statis-
tic: 60 percent of small businesses will close within six months of a cyberattack.
That figure becomes more concerning when it is measured against the number of
small businesses that are prepared for a cyberattack. According to research by the
technology company Symantec, 59 percent of small businesses do not have a contin-
gency plan outlining procedures for responding to and reporting data breach losses.
Furthermore, 87 percent do not have a formal written internet security policy for em-
ployees.
The NCSA infographic, bluntly titled “America’s Small Businesses Must Take
Online Security More Seriously,” captures a current trend — cybercriminals are
more frequently targeting small businesses and organizations, which were once con-
sidered a lesser target. Now, cybercriminals exploit small businesses to gain access
to bigger businesses through the distribution chain or payment portals.
Patricia Toth, supervisory computer scientist at the National Institute of Standards
and Technology, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce, said in a recent
NIST press release that businesses of all sizes are at risk if they conduct business or
store information and data online.
“Many small businesses think that cybersecurity is too expensive or difficult,” said
Toth, who leads outreach efforts to small businesses as part of the agency’s cyberse-
curity and privacy applications group. “In fact, they may have more to lose than a
larger organization because cybersecurity events can be costly and threaten their sur-
vival.”
Toth is also the lead author of NIST’s “Small Business Information Security: The
Fundamentals.” Published in November and available free of charge, the 32-page
guide (plus appendix) is intended for small-business owners who have little to no
experience in cybersecurity.
CDA Practice Analyst Teresa Pichay calls the publication “informative for practice
owners, whether or not they have professional IT advisors.” The guide offers basic
steps small businesses can use to help protect their information systems and takes
users through a simple risk assessment to identify risks and vulnerabilities (see the
article “HIPAA-required risk analysis can prevent malware attacks” on cda.org).
Specifically, the guide explains how to:
Limit employee access to data and information.
Train employees about information security.
Create policy and procedures for information security.
Encrypt data.
Install web and email filters.
Patch or update operating systems and applications.
In addition, the guide provides recommendations on new equipment that might be
required and how to find reputable cybersecurity contractors.
Download the guide, “Small Business Information Security: The Fundamen-
tals” at nist.gov/publications. Also read the CDA article “HIPAA-required risk
analysis can prevent malware attacks” on cda.org.
Copyright © 2016 California Dental Association
Mar / Apr 2017
Dental Benefits 101: Proper Billing, Waiving Co-Payments Reprinted with permission from California Dental Association
Beginning in the new year, this column will host a
semiregular series discussing basic dental benefit is-
sues. The topics covered address questions that CDA
Practice Support receives from dental offices and from
local dental components. This first installment address-
es proper billing for treatment provided by an associate
and waiving of co-payments.
Proper billing
Q: How should a dental practice bill for treatment pro-
vided by an associate?
Not that long ago, almost all dental plans paid accord-
ing to the contract status of the billing provider or own-
er listed on submitted dental claims. When solo practic-
es made up the vast majority of dental practices in the
profession, this payment policy made sense. While the
majority of dental practices are still solo practices, the
larger number of group practices, corporate dental
practices and multipractitioner dental practices has
prompted dental plans to pay based not on who the
owner is and what their contract status is with the plan,
but who rendered care.
For the most part, payment based on the renderer of
care would make little to no difference in terms of the
amount paid to a practice. For example, if both the
practice owner and associates are contracted with ABC
Dental, it is likely they have the same contracted PPO
fee schedule — meaning the associate would be reim-
bursed from the same fee schedule as the owner.
If the associate is not contracted with ABC Dental Plan
but the owner is, treatment provided by the associate
would likely be paid as “out of network.” The reim-
bursement check would be made out to the “billing
provider” (the owner) but paid as out-of-network treat-
ment, even though the owner or billing provider is in
network.
If an owner bills ABC Dental Plan but the treatment
was performed by a noncontracted associate who was
not identified on the submitted claim, this billing would
be in error and potentially fraudulent. Most current
claim forms allow space to identify both the billing
provider and the treating provider/associate. The cor-
rect way to bill all claims submitted to any dental plan
is to list the owner/billing provider and the treating or
rendering provider. The billing provider will receive
the check from the plan, but the claim will be paid ac-
cording to the contract status of the dentist who ren-
dered care.
For more information on billing for an associate, see
the CDA Practice Support resource “Considerations
When Billing for an Associate.”
Waiving of co-payments
Q: May a dental practice forgive, or not collect, a co-
payment from a patient?
If a dental plan identifies a patient portion for the cost
of a covered dental procedure, most dental plans re-
quire the collection of those patient co-payments. Not
collecting the co-payment is a violation of the contract
the dentist has with the patient’s dental plan.
This question often comes up when a neighboring den-
tal office “forgives” or doesn’t collect patient co-
payments, and the inquiring office wants to know if
this is legal or whether the office itself can forgive co-
payments. Not collecting patient co-payments is often
used as a promotion to attract new patients to a prac-
tice. Again, if a dental office is forgiving co-payments
as a matter of policy or promotion, that dentist is vio-
lating the contracts she or he has with dental plans.
Unlike health insurance, which after a patient’s deduct-
ible may pay for almost all care provided to an enrol-
lee, dental plans are designed with specific patient co-
payments built in. Dental plans require co-payments
because plans calculate premiums based on the overall
cost of procedures. If these fees include a co-payment,
and the dentist fails to collect the co-payment, it chang-
es the economics of coverage and the cost of care pro-
vided through the dental benefit plan.
If a plan determines that a dental practice does not reg-
ularly collect co-payments from its enrollees, at the
very least the plan will ask the dentist to start collecting
those co-payments. Beyond this, such a finding could
result in an audit of a number of the plan’s patient
treatments in the practice. Continued on page 5
Mar / Apr 2017
Continued from page 4
Many dental offices wish to provide a discount to pa-
tients, either across the board or to select patients. For-
giving co-payments is usually considered the easiest
way to grant patients a discount. However, forgiving co
-payments, besides being a violation of the dentist’s
contracts with dental plans, may also be considered
fraud. An example of this is when a dentist bills a pro-
cedure to the patient’s dental plan for $400, with $200
paid by the plan and the other $200 being the co-
payment responsibility of the patient. The plan assumes
that the dental office is collecting the patient’s portion.
If the office does not collect and it is the practice’s pol-
icy not to collect the co-payment, the plan could say
that the actual fee for the treatment is $200, not the
$400 indicated on the claim, because the dentist never
planned to actually collect the patient’s portion. The
practice should have billed the plan $200, reflecting the
discounted or forgiven patient portion.
This example shows how forgiving co-payments is
considered fraud. The proper way to apply discounts is
to discount both the patient’s co-pay and the plan’s
portion. This can be accomplished by applying the total
discount to the submitted fee on the claim. If the dentist
wants to provide a discount by reducing the fee from
$400 to $200, the dentist should claim to the plan a
submitted fee of $200. The dental plan pays its portion
from the reduced submitted fee and the patient experi-
ences a discount with a lower co-pay of $100 instead of
the full co-payment of $200 on a $400 allowance.
While the dental office isn’t passing on the full dis-
count they’d like to the patient, the patient’s co-
payment amount is discounted, but so is the amount
that is the responsibility of the plan.
By passing on a discount to the plan and the patient, the
situation of fraud is avoided.
The potential for forgiving of patient co-payments to
constitute fraudulent billing is recognized in Section
7.A.2 of the CDA Code of Ethics, which states: "A
dentist who accepts a third-party payment under a co-
payment plan as payment in full, without disclosing to
the third-party payer that the patient’s payment portion
will not be collected, may be engaged in overbilling.
The essence of this ethical impropriety is deception and
misrepresentation; an overbilling dentist makes it ap-
pear to the third-party payer that the charge to the pa-
tient for the services rendered is higher than it actually
is."
Another downside of not collecting patient co-
payments is that patients come to expect it. A dentist
who does not collect co-payments is torpedoing the
dentist who purchases the practice in the future. Pa-
tients come to the new dentist expecting there will be
no co-payments. The new dentist explains to patients
that the previous owner did not collect required co-
payments, but that this was a violation of the dentist’s
contract with the patients’ plans. The patients probably
won’t care about this legalistic explanation, and even
though the new owner is doing the correct thing, he or
she is getting off on the wrong foot with inherited pa-
tients.
For more information on the right and wrong way to
offer a patient a discount, see the CDA Practice Sup-
port resource “The Right Way to Offer a Patient Dis-
count,” available at cda.org/practicesupport.
Copyright © 2016 California Dental Association
Dental Benefits 101: Proper Billing, Waiving Co-Payments Reprinted with permission from California Dental Association
HAYES HANDPIECE REPAIR
David and Judy (800) 900-1507 or (661) 589-9703
Free Pickup & Delivery 8415 Rolling Bay Drive Bakersfield, CA 93312
Email: [email protected]
www.hayeshandpiece.com
Mar / Apr 2017
CDA Cares is coming to Bakersfield Oc-
tober 6-7, 2017, and will be held at the
Kern County Fairgrounds.
KCDS is going to need volunteers and
more importantly, donations. Not only do
we need monetary donations, we are going
to need towels, porta-potties, pvc pipe and
food, lots of food, etc...
If you have a patient or are friends with
those in a position to help, please talk to
them about the wonderful event that CDA
Cares is. Ask them if you could give their
contact information to Shannon at KCDS
who will then pass it on to Michelle Rivas
at the CDA Foundation. Michelle will then
contact them regarding sponsorship and/or
their donation.
Please help make CDA Cares - Bakersfield
a great success!! We cannot achieve suc-
cess without everyone’s help.
Mark Your Calendars for CDA Cares - Bakersfield October 6-7, 2017
Mar / Apr 2017
The California Supreme Court on Dec. 22 issued an
important decision in a case (Augustus v. ABM) involv-
ing the security guard industry. Two issues were in
question: Must an employee be relieved of all duty for
a paid 10-minute rest period and, if an employee is “on
call” during a rest period, does it count as a lawful
break?
The answer is yes and no. In its simplest form, the rul-
ing stated that “… state law prohibits on-duty and on-
call rest periods. During required rest periods, employ-
ers must relieve their employees of all duties and relin-
quish any control over how employees spend their
break time.” What this means for employers of dental
practices is that meal and rest break policies must be
reviewed and updated to be in compliance with this
decision.
Similar to meal periods, employees must now be re-
lieved of all duties for the two 10-minute paid breaks to
be lawful. Employees should not be allowed to take
rest breaks at their desks or in work areas where the
employee could potentially be interrupted and employ-
ers are no longer able to have policies that restrict em-
ployees from leaving the premises during rest periods.
Employees are entitled to one rest break for workdays
3.5 – 6 hours in length and two rest breaks for work-
days that are 6 – 8 hours in length. No rest breaks are
required for a workday that ends prior to 3.5 hours.
Current meal and rest break penalties still apply. Em-
ployees who are not provided an uninterrupted rest
break or are not able to take meal breaks are entitled to
an additional one hour of pay for each incident (up to
two in a single day). The additional time should be pro-
vided to the employee on the next regularly scheduled
payroll date.
Five things to consider when reviewing employee
rest break policies
Employers should ensure the rest break policy does not
restrict or require an employee to stay on the premises
or remain available to answer business operations ques-
tions, patient questions or calls. However, if an em-
ployee leaves the premises and returns late, disciplinary
action can still apply.
The policy should state that the employee should not
remain in the work area or take a break in an area
where interruptions could potentially occur. In many
instances of smaller practices, this could pose a chal-
lenge. Ideally, a best practice is to incorporate rest
breaks for all employees into the practice schedule each
day and discuss during the morning huddle “coverage”
among team members.
Management staff and other employees should be
trained to refrain from interrupting an employee while
he or she is on break. Of course, as interruptions can
occur from time to time, the court noted that breaks can
be rescheduled, or an employer can pay the penalty.
However, this should be the exception, not the rule.
Policies should also state that employees should report
to their supervisors the inability to take an interrupted
break or when unable to take a break at all.
Rest period policies should include that breaks are free
from duty and that scheduled breaks must be taken by
each non-exempt employee.
CDA Practice Support has updated its Sample Meal
and Rest Break Policy to reflect the new changes. It is
available at cda.org/practicesupport.
Employers should incorporate the changes into their
practice employee manuals, provide the updated policy
to their employees and discuss the changes and expec-
tations. Additionally, they should obtain a signature
from each employee acknowledging that they have
read and understand the new policy moving forward.
Visit cda.org/practicesupport for the updated “Sam-
ple Meal and Rest Break Policy” as well as a “Practice
Policy Revision Employee Acknowledgment Tem-
plate.” Read the court’s opinion on Augustus v. ABM at
courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S224853.PDF.
Copyright © 2016 California Dental Association
Supreme Court Decision on Employee Rest Periods Affects Dental Practices Reprinted with permission from California Dental Association
Mar / Apr 2017
The ordered closure in mid-December of a children’s
dental clinic in Southern California reminds dental
practices of the importance of cleaning and maintaining
dental unit water lines for the safety of patients.
Health officials ordered the Anaheim clinic to close
after discovering mycobacteria in the clinic’s water
system for the second time in three months. Officials
tested the clinic’s water in September after an infection
outbreak was traced to the clinic. The Orange County
Register reports that as of Dec. 16 at least 57 children
had been hospitalized — some with severe complica-
tions — for confirmed or probable mycobacterial infec-
tions after receiving pulpotomies at the clinic between
March 1 and Aug. 11.
Once the source of the infection outbreak was estab-
lished, officials ordered the clinic to stop using office
water for patient procedures. Ultimately, the clinic
closed and installed a new water system and reopened
after the new system’s water was tested and found to
meet ADA standards. Now, less than a month after
opening, the clinic is closed again.
Everyday actions for every patient
The Orange County Health Care Agency and the Cen-
ters for Disease Control are investigating to determine
the source of the latest samples of mycobacteria. Un-
less or until additional recommendations are revealed
in their report, CDA urges dentists to ensure they are
following the Dental Board of California’s current re-
quirements along with CDC recommendations. These
include:
At the beginning of each workday, dental unit lines
and devices should be purged with air or flushed
with water for at least two minutes prior to attach-
ing handpieces, scalers, air water syringe tips or
other devices. The dental unit lines and devices
should be flushed between each patient for a mini-
mum of 20 seconds.
Review procedures for maintaining dental unit wa-
ter quality at ≤500 cfu/mL heterotrophic water bac-
teria.
Consult with the manufacturer of the dental unit for
appropriate water maintenance methods and recom-
mendations for monitoring dental water quality.
These safety procedures are designed to prevent the
dangerous buildup of biofilm in the equipment water
lines. “Essentially, the first thing you should do when
you walk into your operatory is run your water lines,”
CDA Practice Analyst Teresa Pichay says. CDA rec-
ommends that dental practices test their water unit
quality if they have not recently done so.
CDC links past outbreak to pulpotomies
The infection outbreak in Southern California is not the
first to be traced to a dental clinic. In Georgia in Sep-
tember 2015, cases of mycobacterial infection in hospi-
tals were traced to a dental practice that had performed
pulpotomies. A CDC report confirmed that the practice
had “used tap water for pulpotomies without water
quality monitoring or bleaching of waterlines at the end
of each day, as recommended in the manufacturer
guidelines.” All water samples from all of the prac-
tice’s dental stations had bacterial counts above the
CDC’s recommended ≤500 (CFU)/mL.
The report closed with recommendations for preventing
risks associated with waterlines, including use of point-
of-use filters and eliminating “dead ends in plumbing,
where stagnant water can enable biofilm formation.”
Mycobacterial infections can be severe and difficult to
treat. The children hospitalized during the outbreak last
fall experienced complications ranging from long hos-
pital stays for administration of intravenous antibiotics
to surgery, including for jaw reconstruction.
No infections tied to procedures received after the Ana-
heim clinic reopened in November have been con-
firmed as of this writing.
CDA will keep members informed of any new infor-
mation about water quality and water line maintenance
via cda.org and the CDA Update.
See the CDA Practice Support resource “Surface
Disinfectants and Waterline Cleaners” at cda.org/
practicesupport.
Cleaning and Maintaining Dental Water Lines for Infection Control Reprinted with permission from California Dental Association
Mar / Apr 2017
The Environmental Protection Agency’s anticipat-
ed rule requiring that dental practices install amal-
gam separators and implement best practices to
control the discharge of mercury and other metals
entering the waste stream has been delayed follow-
ing the Trump administration’s freeze on all pro-
posed or pending federal regulations. The freeze is
intended to allow the administration time for exec-
utive review of the regulations. Once the freeze is
lifted, requirements of the new rule will take effect
30 days after publication in the Federal Register,
which was previously scheduled for Jan. 24.
Under the proposed EPA rule, as reported on
cda.org and in the CDA Update, most dental prac-
tices must install amalgam separators that are com-
pliant with either the American National Standards
Institute (ANSI) American National Standard/
American Dental Association Specification 108 for
Amalgam Separators (2009) with Technical Ad-
dendum (2011) or the International Organization
for Standardization (ISO) 11143 Standard (2008)
or subsequent versions as long as that version re-
quires amalgam separators to achieve at least a 95
percent removal efficiency.
CDA recognizes that dental amalgam is a safe and
cost-effective restorative material. As environmen-
tal stewards, dentists are encouraged to adhere to
best practices for the recycling and disposal of
amalgam to reduce dental office waste. The use of
dental amalgam separators is recommended to as-
sist in this effort.
Additionally, in anticipation of this ruling, CDA
has been working on behalf of its members to
identify resources that make complying with the
future mandate easier and more affordable.
CDA has secured the PureLife ECO II amalgam
separator as the newest CDA Endorsed Program.
An exceptional dental supplier and longtime CDA
partner, PureLife balances patient health, planet-
friendly choices and exceptional savings for the
best total value.
CDA has negotiated with PureLife to offer this
quality amalgam separator at a member-exclusive
price. The ECO II is an ISO 11143-certified amal-
gam separator that retails for $499. CDA members
will pay only $99 per unit with a discounted one-
year replacement cartridge and disposal service
agreement ($249).
CDA Practice Support Is developing a new Q&A
resource to help dentists understand their obliga-
tions under the ruling and will make the resource
available to dentists if and when the rule is pub-
lished. CDA will keep members informed about
developments on cda.org and in the CDA Update.
Presidential Order Freezes Amalgam Separator Rule Reprinted with permission from California Dental Association
Mar / Apr 2017
DO
YOU
NEED
HELP
?
Help is one step away... Alcohol and drug addiction can touch any of us.
The CDA Well Being Committee is an organization
of dental professionals who can give confidential
assistance to members of the profession, their
spouses and staff members. Anyone needing
information and/or help may contact:
Northern CA Regional Well-Being Committee Assist individuals in Alpine/Mono Counties 530.310.2395, Curtis Vixie, DDS Southern CA Regional Well-Being Committee Assist individuals in Inyo/Kern Counties 818.437.3204, William Slavin, DDS or 714.814.7732, Diane White, DDS or call the Kern County Dental Society Office at
661.843.7715.
The CDA
Well-Being Program A Service to the Dental Community
All 2016 HIPAA Breaches Must Be Reported to HHS Reprinted with permission from California Dental Association
HIPAA-covered entities that experienced a
breach of protected health information in 2016
are required to notify the secretary of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, re-
gardless of the size of the breach.
An entity’s reporting obligations will depend on
whether the breach incident affected fewer than
500 individuals or 500 or more individuals. In
short:
If the breach affected fewer than 500 individ-
uals, the covered entity may (1) report the in-
cident within 60 days after discovery of the
breach or (2) log the incident and then report
the breach within the first 60 days of the fol-
lowing year. All breaches must be reported no
later than March 2, 2017.
If the breach affected 500 or more individu-
als, the covered entity must report the incident
“without unreasonable delay” and no later
than 60 days after discovery of the breach.
HIPAA defines a breach as “the unauthorized use
or disclosure of protected health information.”
Protected health information, or PHI, is individu-
ally identifiable information, such as name, birth
date or demographic data relating to an individu-
al’s past, present or future physical or mental
health or condition; medical treatment or diagno-
sis by a health care professional; or payment for
health care.
All breach notifications to HHS must be made
through the department’s online portal at ocrpor-
tal.hhs.gov/ocr/breach/wizard_breach.jsf.
For HIPAA resources, including “HIPAA Safe-
guards” and a compliance implementation check-
list, visit cda.org/practicesupport.
Copyright © 2016 California Dental Association
Don’t forget to set your clock
ahead one hour before you go to
bed on March 11th, 2017.
Mar / Apr 2017
Ads Office for Lease: Attractive free standing
building with illuminated sign, fully furnished,
w/w/o equipment, located on Stockdale Hwy
with high traffic flow and visibility; 5 plumbed
operatories, 4 fully equipped, 1800 sq. ft.. Call
(661) 742-4594 or (661) 619-5789 for more
information.
Boat for Sale: Ranger 198 VX bass boat, 200
hp Mercury Optimax motor, dual consoles, dual
fishfinders, console model with GPS, three
bank battery charger, custom cover for boat and
motor. Ranger Trail trailer with fold away
tongue. Boat in excellent condition. $25,000.
Call Dr. Bill Powell, Sr. at (661) 832-9155.
For Sale: 1. Mechanical instrument sharpener;
2.Orthodontic cabinet and supplies; 3. H-Wave/
TENS therapy machine; 4. Articulators; and 5.
Misc. Call Dr. Wil Flickinger at (661) 872-
7575.
Office for rent or lease 1,000 sq. ft., 4 remod-
eled, plumbed operatories. Across from Bakers-
field College. Major foot traffic for long-
established office. $1,150 per month. Call (661)
871-0780.
Are you looking for a dentist to work part-
time a few days a week? One of our newest
members is looking to work on Tuesday, Thurs-
day and Saturday. Please contact
[email protected] for contact information.
Wanted: Used, broken or unwanted dental
hand instruments for a project I am working
on. Any scalers or operative instruments will
do. I will gladly pick them up and bring you
donuts!
Email me:[email protected].
Calendar
March
14 Board of Directors Meeting, 5:30 pm
20 New Member Luncheon
24 CE Course: Soft Tissue Concepts for the
General Dentist with Dr. Gordon Fraser
29 Study Club #1
April
4 Board of Directors Meeting, 5:30 pm
8 CPR/BLS Course #1
20 Girls Night Out Wikki Wine Bar, 6:00 pm
22-23 CDA Cares—San Mateo
28 CE Course: Quarterbacking Difficult Restor-
ative Cases in Tumultuous Financial Times
with Dr. Marc Geissberger
Dentist Named Best Job for 2017 Reprinted with permission from California Dental Association
Once again, U.S. News & World Report has
ranked dentist the best job in the U.S. for offer-
ing a “comfortable salary, low unemployment
rate and agreeable work-life balance.” The pro-
fession also held the top spot in the publication’s
best job rankings for 2015 and the second spot in
its 2016 rankings, behind orthodontist.
Health care professions dominate the top 10,
with nurse practitioner and physician assistant
securing the second and third best jobs, while
orthodontist ranks fifth and oral and maxillofa-
cial surgeon ranks ninth.
To produce its annual best job rankings, U.S.
News first looks at U.S. Bureau of Labor Statis-
tics data to select jobs with the greatest hiring
demand and then assesses how well those jobs
meet a mix of employment concerns. Jobs re-
ceive scores in seven areas — from employment
rate to 10-year growth volume to work-life bal-
ance to job prospects. Each job then receives an
overall weighted score.
See the complete rankings at mon-
ey.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/
the-100-best-jobs.© 2016 California Dental Association
Mar / Apr 2017