Dear Practice Management Insider,
Hawaii officials have approved new rules for dentists who use sedation on their patients, following the death of a young girl who suffered cardiac arrest after oral sedation during extensive dental procedures. Click here to read about the requirements, which come in the aftermath of the death of 3-year-old Finley Boyle, who died this month after being treated by Oahu dentist Lilly Geyer, DMD.
In other news in the Practice Management Community, some 300 former patients of Allcare Dental & Dentures in Indiana will receive refunds after the chain abruptly closed its offices in 2011, leaving patients stranded. Read about the patients, who used healthcare credit cards to finance dental work, and then were left with high interest rate payments and without their dentures or completed dental care. Allcare President Robert Bates, DDS, has surrendered his Indiana dental license.
In a related story, GE's CareCredit has been ordered to refund up to $34.1 million to more than 1 million consumers who were victims of deceptive credit card enrollment tactics. Click here to read about investigations of CareCredit involving New York dental and medical practices and a federal conspiracy lawsuit filed by patients at a Florida dental clinic.
In other news, noted dental leader Gordon Christensen, DDS, MSD, PhD, urged dentists to add dental implants to their repertoire during a session at the recent Greater New York Dental Meeting. Read about his thoughts on techniques and materials for replacing teeth, as well as studies comparing general practitioners and oral surgeons in placing implants.
Meanwhile, providing people with dental insurance does not necessarily mean they will use it and seek dental care, according to a new study in the American Journal of Public Health. Click here to find out who is most likely to use such coverage and what can be done to ensure that people use their coverage to seek appropriate care.
In a related story, California's health insurance exchange, Covered California, will require pediatric dental coverage in all medical plans starting in 2015. Read why exchange officials decided to embed children's coverage. And Connecticut is one of the few U.S. states to include pediatric dental insurance in all health plans offered through its insurance exchange, Access Health CT. Click here for details.
And Henry Schein has expanded its European operations with the purchase of five businesses from a Dutch dental equipment distributor. Click here for details of the companies, which have annual sales of about $97 million.
Finally, several states are considering resuming dental Medicaid coverage for low-income adults amid efforts to save emergency room costs and help people with painful oral infections who have nowhere else to turn. South Carolina lawmakers will consider the proposal this summer. Idaho may restore its adult dental Medicaid program after emergency room costs more than doubled.
