Talking with the Toothcop Duane Tinker

Introduction: Join Duane Tinker as he welcomes Leah Roling, an acclaimed life coach and celebrated author of "Shift" and "Nobody's Coming to Save You." Specializing in dental professionals' growth and success, Leah shares transformative insights aimed at enhancing both personal and professional realms.
Embracing the Platinum Rule with Leah Roling: Discover the transition from the Golden Rule to the Platinum Rule with Leah Roling. Understand the pivotal shift towards treating individuals based on their personal preferences and needs, a cornerstone for effective communication and relationships in and beyond dental practices.
Enhancing Communication within Dental Practices: Explore with Duane and Leah how effective communication transcends traditional dental services, fostering deeper connections with patients and promoting a thriving practice environment.
The Path to Personal Growth Through Discipline: Leah delves into the essence of personal discipline, the motivational triad, and the journey towards self-improvement and enhanced professional outcomes.
Foundations of Habit Formation for Dental Professionals: Learn Leah's strategies for establishing a sustainable baseline in habit formation, aiming to bolster consistent progress without the risk of burnout.
The Power of Self-Reflection and Gift Sharing in Dentistry: Revisit insights from a prior session where Leah discussed the impact of self-reflection and the importance of sharing one's unique gifts within the dental community and beyond.
Upcoming Opportunities for Professional Development: Stay ahead with Leah Roling's "Manifest Mind" course starting April 1, designed to empower individuals through mindset shifts and actionable steps towards crafting their desired life. Additionally, mark your calendar for an October event focusing on leadership and personal growth.
Connect with Leah Roling: Reach out to Leah through her official website, engage with her on social media, tune into her podcast "Becoming You" with Leah Roling, or get in touch directly via email for insights into transforming your dental practice and personal growth.
Leah Roling's Impact on Dental Leadership and Team Dynamics: Leah Roling stands as a transformative leader in dentistry, emphasizing leadership development, team dynamics, and engagement strategies to combat industry challenges such as burnout, turnover, and absenteeism. Through her innovative approach, Leah fosters environments of empowerment, confidence, and creativity, ensuring dental practices not only meet but exceed modern expectations.
Engage with Leah Roling: Discover Leah's comprehensive suite of resources for dental professionals seeking to enhance their practice's dynamics and patient satisfaction through her website, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and her inspirational podcast.

Your Invitation to Transform Your Dental Practice: In the ever-evolving changes in dentistry, the success of your practice hinges not just on the quality of care you provide but also on the health and harmony of your team. Recent shifts in the workforce landscape have brought to light the critical need for evolved leadership strategies that go beyond traditional management.
 
As a dedicated leadership and team engagement strategist specializing in dentistry, I understand the unique challenges you face—burnout, turnover, and absenteeism are not just issues; they're barriers to your practice's growth and patient satisfaction. It's clear: to thrive in today's environment, simply leading and managing isn't enough. The key lies in enrolling your team in their potential, fostering a culture of confidence, decisiveness, and creativity, and shifting from expectations to empowerment.
 
Are you ready to assess the health of your practice and explore practical strategies that have proven to reduce absenteeism by a staggering 81% and turnover by 18%? With the average cost of hiring reaching $45,000, reduc

Clinical Recordkeeping for Dental Assistants for Nifty Thrifty Dentists Group
 
🦷 The importance of proper documentation and compliance in dental practices: Learn from Dwayne Tinker, former police officer for the Texas Dental Board, as he shares insights on #DentalCompliance and record-keeping.
 
Key Takeaways:
1️⃣ Proper notations for medications and doctor's instructions are crucial.
2️⃣ #HIPAA compliance is a must, especially for patient record access.
3️⃣ Respect patient privacy and obtain consent during conversations.
4️⃣ Ensure accuracy and reliability through thorough documentation.
5️⃣ Fix problems in advance to maintain credibility and avoid audits.
6️⃣ Comprehensive clinical notes are essential, including medical history, x-ray findings, and perio charts.
 
Join us to stay informed about the legal implications of dental records! 📋🔒
 #DentalDocumentation #ComplianceMatters #PatientPrivacy #DentalRecords #HealthcareCompliance
 
Connect With Duane https://www.dentalcompliance.com/ toothcop(at)dentalcompliance.com On Facebook On LinkedIn  

Amanda Hill RDH, BSDH has been a dental hygienist for over 26 years. When she took her annual infection control training in 2017, the speaker covered waterlines. She never knew that she had to do more than flush her waterlines. No one else in her dental office knew that they were supposed to do more.
Her practice failed their first water test, badly. So Amanda dug in and got them to pass their water testing. Then she started offering to help other dental offices. In this episode, Amanda shares her expertise and we have a deep discussion about waterline testing. 
Outline of This Episode [1:56] Learn more about Amanda Hill AKA the “Waterline Warrior” [6:24] Open line versus closed waterline systems [11:10] What is a biofilm and how do you kill it?  [16:08] Amanda’s favorite germicide delivery system [19:39] Reasons you need to do waterline testing [26:25] Why you want to be consistent with treatments [28:40] How frequently you should test your waterlines [33:24] Addressing the flushing your waterlines debate [38:33] Waterline testing must include documentation Resources & People Mentioned Email: amandahillrdh@gmail.com  Friend on Facebook Follow on Instagram Connect on LinkedIn Check out Amanda’s Website Deanna Otts-Whitfield, RDH, BSDH, MSHQS BluTube Dental Unit Water Purification Cartridge Dental procedures during pandemic are no riskier than a drink of water Preventing Airborne Diseases in Dentistry with Michelle Strange CDC warns of bacteria in dental waterlines after children are infected Connect With Duane https://www.dentalcompliance.com/ toothcop(at)dentalcompliance.com On Facebook On Twitter On LinkedIn On Youtube

Without question, the Covid pandemic had a large impact on the healthcare field. It highlighted monstrous changes that needed to occur in the infection control space. MCS put its resources into investigating standards of care in infection control. 
MCS came out with some new technologies that will transform the world of infection control. Paul Saueressig outlines the solutions they’ve created and how they can benefit your dental practice in this episode of Talking with the Toothcop. Do NOT miss this one!
Outline of This Episode [2:12] Learn more about MCS Infection Control Solutions [8:01] Solution #1: Protective Coating Solutions [15:03] Solution #2: Rapid Testing Solutions [26:08] Two options for healthcare facilities [35:53] The problem with Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) [39:56] Providing long-term proactive solutions for the healthcare space [41:09] How to get more information about MCS infection control solutions Resources & People Mentioned MCS Paul Saueressig Hygiena Connect With Duane https://www.dentalcompliance.com/ toothcop(at)dentalcompliance.com On Facebook On Twitter On LinkedIn On Youtube

Have you heard of the federally implemented “No Surprises Act?” Were you aware that it applies to dentists? The No Surprises Act protects uninsured and self-pay patients from receiving surprise medical bills. So what does that mean for your practice? Find out in this episode of Talking with the Toothcop! 
How the “No Surprises Act” applies to dentists As of 1/1/2022, you need to provide patients an estimate of anticipated charges for dental services, i.e. “Good Faith Estimates” or GFEs. They must be provided upon request or upon scheduling an appointment—well in advance of the treatment plans and financial estimates you may be currently providing. 
Because you’re already providing financial estimates in advance of service, does that mean you’re exempt? NOPE. Sorry to tell you, that’s not the case. At this time, it applies to uninsured and self-pay patients. It may apply to insured patients in the future. 
What do you have to do? Here are the basics: 
You have to provide notice to your patients of their right to receive a GFE You must post a notice on your website You must post a notice in your practice where scheduling and service costs may be discussed (so a check-in desk). You need to implement a good faith form in your practice. You have to issue this to current and new uninsured and self-pay patients before you provide—or continue providing—services. This applies to anyone who even contacts your office. If they ask what you charge for a dental cleaning, you have to provide them with that estimate. 
What else do you need to know? 
Even if you provide a GFE verbally, it must also be provided in writing (mail, fax, or encrypted email). Before you give out this information verbally, it’s wise to tell a potential patient that you must follow up with this information in written form and ask for their name and address (and assure them this is federal law). It must be provided within a specific time frame (1–3 business days after an appointment is scheduled or 3 days after an inquiry)  GFEs must be mailed to current patients before you continue with treatment  You have to maintain the estimates that you provide in a patient’s charting and document in their progress notes that you’ve talked about the GFE They have to be maintained for six years (even GFEs for patients who never scheduled) A GFE is the cost of services that you anticipate providing for a patient over a year. If those costs change, you must issue a new GFE.  None of this is difficult. But it is just one more thing you have to implement. That’s why we’ve created a toolkit for you to help you implement this in your practice. 
Why does any of this matter? If there is a difference of more than $400 between your GFE and billed charges, the patient can initiate a billing dispute that the HHS can investigate. Those decisions are reviewed by a third-party contractor. If the decision doesn’t go in your favor, you can lose out on legitimately earned fees. Secondly, this may become like HIPAA. A complaint may lead to your practice being audited and civil monitoring down the road. 
Outline of This Episode [1:23] The Federal No Surprises Act  [3:35] What you have to do [7:03] When did this become effective?  [8:04] Why does any of this matter? [9:52] Where this falls in order of operations [11:00] Q&A session with Laura  [17:49] How to connect with Laura [19:46] Important compliance reminders OUR SPONSORS:  ProEdge Dental Water Labs: https://ProEdgeDental.com/Toothcop 
Protective Dental: https://DentalCompliance.com/DrugKit
Resources & People Mentioned The No Surprises Act implementation guide and toolkit Connect with Laura by email: ldiamond(at)dsedlaw.com Connect With Duane https://www.dentalcompliance.com/ toothcop(at)dentalcompliance.com On Facebook On Twitter On LinkedIn On Youtube

Everyone needs a compliance program tailored to the needs of their practice. Justin Withrow jumps in when a compliance program is absent and things go horribly wrong. Perhaps a client was employing an individual that's excluded from participation in the Federal Healthcare Program that should have been caught.  There is a multitude of things that could happen that could have been prevented by a compliance program. In this episode of Talking with the Toothcop, we dissect the importance of exclusion monitoring, the basics of the false claims act, self-disclosure protocol, and much more.
The importance of exclusion monitoring  Justin worked with a multi-location practice where the owner worked with walk-in and Medicaid clients frequently. He was doing criminal background checks and checking licenses with the dental board. But he didn’t know an exclusion list existed with the Federal Healthcare Program that could exclude providers from working with the Medicaid program. Unfortunately, one of his providers knew they were excluded and didn’t tell him. It resulted in a fraud investigation of his practice. He was looking at jail time for something that could easily have been avoided. 
It feels like science fiction but it’s the real deal. It’s as simple as running your licensed staff members’ names through a website. You need to know they’re authorized to work with your patients so you can get reimbursed for services rendered. If you don’t, they’ll take that money back—and then some. Justin dissects the basics of the false claims act and the fines you could be looking at if you were caught in this situation. Don’t miss it. 
The submission of “unclean” claims If you submit a claim for reimbursement by a provider who is excluded from a state Medicaid program, that claim is labeled as a false claim. Let’s say a practice employs someone who they knew was excluded and billed services as rendered by a credentialed provider. If it was determined the service was rendered by an excluded provider, that triggers a false claim. Any service rendered by an excluded provider and submitted for reimbursement to Medicaid is a false claim. 
If a provider has been excluded, that individual can’t have contact with any patient insured with Medicare or Medicaid. If they work on that patient that claim cannot be reimbursed. That’s why it is SO important to do exclusion checks. This applies to dental assistants, hygienists, and even administrative staff. Every member of your organization needs to be regularly run through exclusion databases. 
Defining self-disclosure protocol A compliance program helps you identify improper practices (something coded incorrectly, overpayment, etc.), catch them, and self-disclose or clarify that you made a mistake. You can let the governmental agency know a mistake was made and correct the mistake. Usually, you’re given a certain time period—60 days—in which to self-disclose. The government knows mistakes happen. That’s why this protocol exists. 
If you’re in the general ballpark of 60 days, it’s usually fine. Even if you’re outside of the 60-day window, doing nothing is the wrong approach. You will get in trouble down the road. It’s always appropriate to rectify your mistakes when they’re identified. Just work with a professional to do it appropriately.
What a compliance program must address A compliance program must address the policies and procedures that an office uses to operate (i.e. OSHA, HIPAA, dental board regulations, state and federal regulations, etc.). You must properly and safely render care to patients while adhering to various laws of various agencies. It’s an all-encompassing document that dictates how you do everything in your practice. It’s who you are and how you operate. It has to be reflected in the day-to-day operation of your practice.
People always say, “We’re too busy.” That’s NOT okay. It’s an excuse. These things can