Prevention vs. Prosecution- Patient Care Issues In Dentistry

Ethics, Insurance Management, Practice Management

The practice of dentistry and dental hygiene involves adhering to strict standards of care. This course examines the best methods for producing desirable results to avoid injury. Clinical standards are reflected in various case histories. Proper documentation protocol, the gold standard in mitigating liability, is also discussed. Mitigating liability includes developing superb communication skills necessary to help patients understand treatment advantages, disadvantages, risks, and alternatives. We will dissect some of the most challenging communication scenarios in the dental office, such as what to say when patients reject treatment recommendations or necessary radiographs, and implementing an informed consent/informed refusal protocol. You will gain useful information to improve your own communication skills. 

1. Defining the standard of care 
2. The four elements of malpractice 
3. The top ten causes of alleged dental negligence for doctors and hygienists 
4. The four reasons dental hygienists should carry malpractice insurance 
5. Types of insurance 
6. Elements of good documentation 
7. What not to include in patient records 
8. Determining how much to write 
9. Ten commandments of charting 
10. Informed consent/refusal 
11. Importance of open communication 

The educational teaching methodology used in this course is a self-study lecture presented via pre-recorded webinar in concert with an accompanying PowerPoint presentation. Both the pre-recorded webinar and the PowerPoint presentation incorporate a variety of audio and visual cues to enhance audience members’ understanding and retention of key concepts.