The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR) released new online educational resources to help healthcare entities covered under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to respond to a cyber-related security attack. The…
In early June, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reinstated the final rule on effluent limitations for dental offices to reduce the discharge of mercury and other metals from dental offices down the sewer drain to publically owned treatment works…
Dentists are required to post in the office, and distribute to each patient no later than the first appointment date, a Notice of Privacy Practices, which is a formal, written document summarizing the legal duties of the dental practice to…
The California Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) requires all employers, including dental offices, to inform employees about state laws governing wages, working hours, and working conditions by posting the applicable Wage Order in the place of business. IWC Wage Order No…
One of the current best management practices for managing dental amalgam in wastewater, recommended universally among dental organizations, is the prohibition on the use of dental vacuum line cleaners that promote the release of mercury from the vacuum lines. Specifically,…
Under universal/standard precautions, OSHA deems that all teeth must be assumed to be potentially infectious. As such, they must be handled safely, to prevent the potential for occupational transmission of disease to employees who come into contact with them. However,…
Effective April 1, 2017 as Section 3342 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, Cal/OSHA’s Violence Prevention in Health Care regulation requires specified health care facilities to establish workplace violence prevention plans to protect health care personnel from…
In September 2016, California Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2235, also known as Caleb’s Law, into law. Caleb was a six-year old who died in 2015 from complications sustained during dental treatment while under general anesthesia. AB 2235 covers…
On February 1, 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) civil penalty of $3.2 million against Children’s Medical Center of Dallas based on its breach of…
Last month, the California Department of Justice and the California Department of Consumer Affairs issued a joint notification to all affected parties that the CURES 1.0 system will no longer be available after Saturday, March 4, 2017. The old system…
