Dentists part of Minn. EHR mandate; FDA may reclassify blade implants

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

Back in 2009, Minnesota made history by becoming the first U.S. state to pass a law creating the midlevel provider model for dentistry.

Now the Land of 10,000 Lakes has scored another first: a mandate that requires all healthcare providers -- including general dentists, oral surgeons, and orthodontists -- to implement electronic health record (EHR) systems by 2015. Click here to read details, including what the Minnesota Dental Association is doing to help practitioners comply.

Meanwhile, over in the Restoratives Community, blade-form implants could get a boost in interest from the dental community as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) moves forward with efforts to change how the implants are classified. An FDA advisory panel met on July 18 to consider reclassifying the implants from class III to class II; click here to read the outcome of that meeting and what happens next.

Dental malpractice insurance policies can be confusing and intricate, and somewhere in the middle of all of the policy language you will often find a consent-to-settle provision, which establishes a malpractice insurer's rights and obligations when settling a claim. If you read the fine print, you may find exceptions that remove the requirement that the insurer obtain the dentist's consent. Click here to read nine of the most common exceptions found in dental malpractice policies.