The law requires that we ask the patient to acknowledge receipt of the Notice of Privacy Practices. The law does not require the patient to sign the “acknowledgment of receipt of the notice.” Signing does not mean that the patient agreed to any special uses or disclosures of the patient’s records.  Refusing to sign the acknowledgement does not prevent you from using or disclosing health information as HIPAA permits.

Is your HR policy discriminating employees based on hair style and hair texture? Years ago, it was common for HR policies to include a provision prohibiting extreme hairstyles. Perceived as “extreme” hairstyles included afros, dreadlocks, cornrows, braids and twists.  

Are you aware the FBI warned of search engine ads when you search for your bank online? 

Quite a number of support calls and cases have come through with the problem of RDAs and RDHs licenses lapsed. This results in fines and penalties for both the RDA, RDH, and the owner/dentist.

Olivia has personally been a fan of the Hufriedy IMS cassette system for many years. Why? Number one, the cassette system promotes safety. By handling the contaminated instruments less, the assistants and hygienists are less likely to have a sharps injury.  If we can minimize the risk of an exposure incident, we have accomplished two things: 1) employees feel safer, and 2) we minimized the added costs of post exposure management.

Have you received these mailings?  Poster companies indicate that you can get into labor law posting compliance by buying their posters. They also indicate there is a "new" federal EEOC poster.

Depends. Check with the manufacturer because the information may vary among brands. 

According to CDC, all items to be sterilized should be arranged so all surfaces will be directly exposed to the sterilizing agent. Loading procedures must allow for free circulation of steam around each item.

Have you scheduled performance reviews with your team members? This is a great time to conduct your evaluation of the employee's achievements and contributions made last year and to assess the areas to improve during this year. 

Have you wondered why people are leaving their jobs? According to iHire's 2022 Talent Retention Report, the top 5 reasons people left jobs in the last 12 months are:

Have you scheduled performance reviews with your team members? This is a great time to conduct your evaluation of the employee's achievements and contributions made during year 2022 and to assess the areas to improve during year 2023.

On December 14, 2022, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a settlement with a dental practice in California over the impermissible disclosure of patient protected health information (PHI) in response to online reviews, and other potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. The practice used social media inappropriately responding to a negative...

Your Work Exposure Control Plan is essentially one of the most important parts of your OSHA Manual, and it needs to be reviewed by everyone at the practice annually. Consider taking time to review the Work Exposure Control Plan as a team when you have your annual training. 

Let’s face it, many practices are struggling with the staffing shortage. Those who are employed are likely working doubly hard, handling the duties of two people.  It may be difficult to recruit RDHs and RDAs right now; particularly those who have added skills.  

One of the “small” details that is a big deal to OSHA is sharps containers. In some practices we at MPS have inspected, we’ve found sharps containers in places like cabinets, treatment room corners, and on countertops. OSHA has standards for sharps containers that if left unfollowed could result in costly OSHA fines. Since disposal is usually the main occasion for contaminated needle sticks to happen (according to CDC’s Workbook for Designing, Implementing, and Evaluating a Sharps Injury Prevention Program,) OSHA pays close attention to how sharps containers are placed and handled. 

Did you know that the way your Sterilization Center is set up could save you 5+ minutes per procedure and set your practice apart in infection control? Laying out your Sterilization area efficiently puts your practice in the fast lane on the road to success. Take an honest look at your practice’s Sterilization Center and compare to the layout ideas below:

Does everyone at the practice know the drill if there were to be a natural disaster or emergency? It’s a great idea (and required by OSHA) to have a Fire and Emergency Action Plan in place that everyone at the practice knows and would instantly adhere to if there were a natural disaster or fire. 

One of the things we’ve noticed over the years in visiting different practice’s is the state of their SDS binder. We often see what we refer to as “Frankenbinders,” which have chunks missing, pieces of unrelated materials added, and an overall disarray of pages. When you look at it, it gives you feelings of dread and procrastination and you definitely wouldn’t want OSHA to see it if they were to drop by unannounced. 

The average dental practice is extremely busy in trying to keep up with patient and treatment schedules. So for many practice staff, the thought of keeping up with both OSHA and HIPAA compliance is overwhelming. This is why it is vital to have designated officers that can handle these components. 

Over the years, we’ve received quite a few phone calls with desperate and worried persons on the other end of the line telling us that there has been a needlestick incident in their practice and they have no idea what to do next. This is definitely not a fun predicament to be in, but it’s important to keep your head and take the appropriate steps to ensure that you’re following OSHA’s standards. Don’t be intimidated by the forms and the protocol. You can do this. 

Everyone knows that having the right IT company to serve your practice is acutely important, but how do you choose the right one? Asking the right questions will clarify whether or not the IT company you’re interviewing will meet your needs in the ever-advancing world of technology and security threats. Let’s explore some questions that you can use as your framework.