Are You Covered for Malpractice After Leaving a Dental Practice?
By Marc Leffler, DDS, Esq. for MedPro Group Background facts A middle-aged general dentist, Dr. V, was in a practice partnership with his dental school classmate for over 10 years. Both [...]
Remember Covid? This writer gets a not-so-subtle reminder.
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart TrainingFor you Sopranos fans, my favorite recurring scene is Silvio Dante (played by Steven Van Zandt) doing his impression of the Al Pacino quote [...]
What’s Really Required of HIPAA Compliant Email?
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnectThere’s no simple answer or single factor that makes email HIPAA-compliant. Instead, it requires the assurance of both security and privacy when it comes to protected health information [...]
The Importance of Undergoing a Digital Transformation at Your Practice
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect Technology’s long played a role in improving patient diagnoses, treatment, and care. But what’s just now being realized is its potential to revolutionize the business side [...]
How Practice Analytics Software Can Boost Dental Practice Revenue
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect Nearly every dental practice and DSO out there wants to boost revenue. In fact, many practices are still working to recover from a nearly 18% drop [...]
CBCT Scans Contain Findings Well Beyond Dentistry
By Marc Leffler, DDS, Esq. for MedPro Group Background facts A 61-year-old male patient, F, presented to a periodontist, Dr. P, on referral from his general dentist, for evaluation and potential [...]
Dallas-based health care provider hit with ransomware attack. Over 124,000 patient records were breached.
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training A Dallas-based home health service provider recently disclosed that access to its network was gained by unauthorized individuals and ransomware used to [...]
Patients Are Entitled to Choose Their Treatment…Within Reason: Case Study
By Marc Leffler, DDS, Esq. for MedPro Group Background facts As a young child growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, Mrs. H’s physician often prescribed Tetracycline for her frequent respiratory [...]
2022 HIPAA-Related Violations Cost Healthcare Facilities Almost $2 Million
Photo by Karolina GrabowskaBy Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart TrainingLast month, I recapped OSHA-related issues in 2022. Now we’ll do the same with regard to HIPAA.In 2022, there were 17 [...]
Implant Placement Leads to Appendectomy and Colonoscopy
By Marc Leffler, DDS, Esq. for MedPro Group Background facts A 73-year-old man, whose medical history consisted of diabetes and hypertension, both well-controlled with medication, diet, and weight management presented to [...]
TDA Perks Program Hopes It Made a Big Impact on Your Life in 2022.
Does your phone have the TDA Dental Concierge app installed on it? Or does your bank account have a sizable (perhaps very sizeable) addition to it, with the assistance of ERC Specialists?If [...]
2022 Compliance Roundup: COVID-19 in 2022 and an Update on a Tragic Case Involving a Houston Dentist
Photo by Muhammad-taha Ibrahim Note: Photo does not depict actual patient. By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training Looking back over events transpiring in 2022 feels a bit like [...]
Change with HIPAA and Avoid ROA Fines
In this webinar, Smart Training’s Jim Moore presents an engaging review of the proposed changes to the HIPAA Security Rule that are expected to be enacted in months ahead and how these new requirements will [...]
Who’s in Charge Here? How a Dental Office’s Receptionist (and Answering Machine) Led to a Lawsuit
By Marc Leffler, DDS, Esq. for MedPro Group Background facts A woman in her mid-20s had been having discomfort for a number of months in her lower right first molar, which [...]
Opioid Abuse Following Dental Treatment
By Marc Leffler, DDS, Esq. for MedPro Group Underlying facts Dr. D was a well-experienced general dentist who practiced in a small rural town, in which he was the only dentist. [...]
HIPAA Right of Access Violations Cost Three Dental Practices Big Dollars
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training Complaints from patients that their dental practices failed to provide timely access to their medical records—one with an added allegation of overcharging [...]
Don’t Let These Common Fears Stop You from Creating Your Start-Up Practice.
Provided by Xite RealtyIf you’re a practice associate, seeing your patients and going home at night without the responsibility of being an owner can feel comfortable.But if you have the dream of [...]
Electronic Records Templates are a Force to be Reckoned With
Photo by Lisa Fotios By Marc Leffler, DDS, Esq. for MedPro Group Background Facts A healthy 24-year-old woman, a third grade teacher, presented to her primary dental office in which a [...]
23 children were infected by water with bacterial levels 182 times over acceptable amount, CDC article indicates
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training It’s said that the wheels of justice turn slowly. A recent decision (Oct. 4, 2022) by the Georgia Supreme Court caught my [...]
2023 Open Enrollment and ACA Update
By Eric Tiedtke, TDA Financial Services Insurance Program What follows is TDA Financial Services Insurance Program’s annual update on health insurance. For 2023, there’s been quite a bit of legislation passed [...]
Dental Office Rules for Minimizing Your Credit Card Fees
Credit card processing fees can have a huge impact on your bottom line. In this month's webinar, Best Card will teach you how to calculate your effective rate (what you're really paying to accept credit [...]
It’s Time to Evaluate Your ePrescribing Process and Software.
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect We’re coming up on the two-year anniversary of the electronic prescribing for controlled substances (EPCS) law taking effect in January 2021. Hopefully, ePrescribing has improved your workflow [...]
Down the Hatch!
By Marc Leffler, DDS, Esq. for MedPro GroupBackground FactsDr. H, a pediatric dentist in a rural area, saw a 13-year-old male patient whom she had treated since he was about 5. Over [...]
Covid deaths are still over 12,000/month. More help is on the way.
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training As the CDC's Covid Data Tracker web page continues to show, community transmission rates (which are what drives much of the CDC's [...]
An Update on TDA Dental Concierge
The indispensable free app that simplifies meeting TSBDE CE requirements, audit submissions Before the release of the free TDA Dental Concierge app in February, staying on top of Texas State Board [...]
Not Every Patient Can Have Every Procedure
Photo by Alex Green from Pexels By Marc Leffler, DDS, Esq. for MedPro Group Background Facts A 57-year-old, post-menopausal woman presented to her regular restorative dentist, Dr. E, whom she had seen [...]
DSO Settles Data Breach Lawsuit for $3,000,000
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training30 Texas Practices Among those AffectedThe class action suit that resulted from a data breach affecting over 1,700,000 patients appears to be close to [...]
Anatomy of a $25,000 OSHA Citation
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training COVID death of dental assistant prompts investigation Note: This article is based on information obtained from multiple Freedom of Information Act requests [...]
The Up-to-$100K Stimulus Your New Practice May Have Missed…and How You Can Still Claim It
If you opened your practice after Feb. 15, 2020 and have W2 employees, this webinar is for you! Simon Walder of ERC Specialists, a company that's helped nearly 400 dentists claim the Employee Retention Credit [...]
Unexpected Complications Following Facial Cosmetic Surgery
Photo by Pixabay from Pexels By Marc Leffler, DDS, Esq. for MedPro Group Claims of malpractice are always a source of stress and concern for practitioners who are sued, but looking at [...]
OCR ups the ante for HIPAA Right of Access non-compliance
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training With the announcement of 11 additional financial penalties for HIPAA-covered entities failing to provide patients with timely access to their medical records, [...]
IRS rules have changed. If you didn’t qualify for this tax credit before, it’s very worth your time to take another look.
Photo by Mikhail Nilov Provided by ERC Specialists If you’ve heard of the Employee Retention Credit (ERC)—which allows qualified small businesses to claim up to $26,000 per employee as a fully [...]
Are You Overspending on Marketing?
In this webinar, Pete Johnson of Lasso talks about marketing content and how people buy your brand—not your marketing. In this webinar, you'll glean tips on how to market your practice so that you get [...]
Three Ways to Keep Your Third-Party Vendors from Becoming Your Biggest Cybercrime Liability
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect Criminals are looking at the entire ecosystem of vendors linked to healthcare, including your third-party vendors. The main question is whether you and they understand the [...]
Case study: A Quick Out-Patient Sedation Leads to Long-Term Problems
Photos by Tim Samuel and ThisIsEngineering. By Marc Leffler, DDS, Esq. for MedPro Group Background On referral from her general dentist, a healthy 31-year-old female civil engineer (“Ms. B.”) presented to [...]
OSHA made a change (that’s not really a change)
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training OSHA announced it continues working towards issuing a final standard to protect healthcare workers from COVID-19 hazards, but will also consider its [...]
The Top 10 Things You Need to Know to Recognize and Avert Cyberattacks
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect Cyberattacks are hitting too close to home in the dental industry. The American Dental Association was attacked in April by a new ransomware gang that claims to [...]
Bisphosphonate Therapy is an Important Pre-surgical Consideration
Photo by cottonbroProvided by MedPro GroupBackground FactsA 54-year-old, post-menopausal accountant (Ms. P) presented to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon (Dr. T) on referral from her general dentist, for the removal of a [...]
The $26K per employee stimulus your practice may have missed out on—and how you can still claim this fully forgiven tax credit
It's estimated up to 80% of businesses qualify for at least part of the Employee Retention Credit (created under the CARES Act). However, most practice owners are unaware of the credit or were misinformed on [...]
Complex Orthodontics Case by a Pediatric Dentist
By Marc Leffler, DDS, Esq. for MedPro Group Background Facts An 11-year-old boy presented with his father to a dental office in which 2 general dentists and a pediatric dentist practiced. [...]
The Most Important Part of Your Emergency Kit: What It is and How to Use it
By Rose Dodson, M.S., CEO; Sedation Resource, Inc. Medical emergencies can and do happen in a dental office. Successful management of an emergency requires preparation and practice. While having proper tools is essential, knowing [...]
Single data breach affects almost 2,600,000 dental patients nationwide
Photos by Mikhail Nilov and Marcus Spiske from PexelsBy Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart TrainingAn Irvine, California-based DSO with over 100 locations in Texas recently provided an update on the [...]
How to Choose the Optimal Practice Location
In this webinar, Xite Realty Senior Associate Blake Johnson shares how dentists are using a data-driven approach to site selection, as well as proven strategies for opening a practice efficiently and effectively.
Email Spear Phishing: A New Level of Scary
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect On Friday, April 22, the ADA fell victim to a cybersecurity incident that caused a disruption to certain systems, including Aptify, ADA email, telephone, and web [...]
Teledentistry: A double-edged sword?
By Marc Leffler, DDS, Esq., & Mario Catalano, DDS, MAGD for MedPro Group Introduction During the recent pandemic, and most particularly when dental offices were either closed or open only for true [...]
Let’s debunk some common misconceptions about starting a dental practice.
Provided by Xite Realty Be discerning about the “facts” you may hear about starting a practice. Misconceptions swirl around debt, expected income, and location. Let’s clear up five common ones. Misconception #1: [...]
Office of Civil Rights (OCR) fines dentist $104,000
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training Another Right of Access violation makes the news. For several months, I’ve been reminding practice owners their patients have the right to [...]
Why Post-Appointment Follow-up Videos Are a Good Idea
Photo by Teona Swift from Pexels By Dr. Brian Harris for CareCredit When patients with complex or larger cases are not ready to make an immediate decision, often we just send them [...]
Cyberattacks: Prevention May be the Cure for Ransomware
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnectJust as you wash your hands regularly so you don’t get sick, it’s critical to adopt good habits of digital hygiene to prevent cyberattacks on your practice. The [...]
With High Deductible Plans, Self-Pay for Prescriptions Can Sometimes Make Sense.
By Eric Tiedtke, TDA Financial Services Insurance Program Since the passing of the Affordable Care Act, there’s been a significant increase in high-deductible health plans and usage of Health Savings Accounts [...]
Dental Case Study: Is Informed Consent Necessary For Mandibular Blocks?
Photo by cottonbro from Pexels By Marc Leffler, DDS, Esq. for MedPro Group Background Facts A 42-year-old healthy woman, Mrs. B, presented to her general dentist, Dr. W, on a scheduled visit [...]
CDC COVID-19 Update: Good News and Clarifications
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training In some welcome news, levels of community transmission of COVID-19 are finally beginning to fall! As of March 7, the percentage of [...]
PPOs or Providers, Who’s In Charge?
A major question that's presented itself the past two years is a complex one. Should I be in-network with insurance or go Fee-For-Service (FFS)? The PPOs have strategically outpaced most dental practices and groups as it [...]
Email Cybersecurity is Critical for Your Practice. Know How to Protect Your Office.
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect Do you feel you’re hearing a lot about ransomware, phishing, and hacking these days? You’re not imagining the increase—these buzzwords are everywhere: news media, compliance reports, technology [...]
Measure Twice, Cut Once: How Improper Documentation Led to Wrong-Side Surgery
Photo by Ono Kosuki from Pexels By Marc Leffler, DDS, Esq. for MedPro Group Background facts The insured general dentist had been seeing and treating a 29-year-old male patient since the patient [...]
How to Thrive in an Era of Stagnant or Declining Insurance Reimbursements
Photo by Monstera from Pexels By Nicholas Partridge, President; Five Lakes Dental Practice Solutions Since the advent of preferred provider organizations (PPOs) in the mid-1990s, dental networks focused on one thing—getting bigger. Today, [...]
Healthcare provider reports theft of backup server with PHI of 21,601 individuals.
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart TrainingHere's what it should have done to avert disaster.Let’s start with a quick quiz. What are the three types of data breaches?PhysicalElectronicSkimmingBe prepared for [...]
How Ignoring a Patient’s Medical History can Lead to a Malpractice Lawsuit: Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Dental Prophylaxis
By Marc Leffler, DDS, Esq. for MedPro Group Background facts A 67-year-old woman presented to a new general dentist, Dr. A, for a check-up and a cleaning, having recently retired to [...]
It’s Déjà vu All Over Again. You Must Wear a Respirator During AGPs.*
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training It’s Sunday night, Jan. 9, and my head is spinning. I just reviewed all the articles I’ve written for “In the Know” [...]
Surcharging Credit Cards: Legal, Complicated, Risky
By Phil Nieto, President; Best Card A dentist recently called our office asking if it was legal for a dental office to surcharge credit card processing costs to patients. An example [...]
Free App Simplifies Meeting TSBDE CE Requirements, Audit Submissions
Staying on top of Texas State Board of Dental Examiners (TSBDE) CE requirements is a messy affair. There’s no clean and easy way of keeping track of CE courses taken, which requirements [...]
Dentist Relies on Texting to Follow Up With Patient After a Tooth Extraction, Leading to Poor Patient Outcome and Lawsuit
By Mario Catalano, DDS, MAGD & Marc Leffler, DDS, Esq. for MedPro GroupIntroductionTechnology has become ubiquitous in almost every aspect of modern living, including how we provide and receive healthcare. Today’s communication [...]
COVID-19 is a moving target. Don’t let your guard down.
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training As 2021 is coming to a close, our dance with COVID-19 resembles more of a herky-jerky jitterbug than a smooth waltz. Last [...]
Looking Back at Compliance Issues in 2021 to See Forward
Smart Training Vice-President of Healthcare Lee Slaton will take you through compliance issues dental practices contended with in 2021. Slaton’s keen insight—based on more than a decade of working with the various regulatory bodies that [...]
Death following extraction on Coumadinized patient
By Marc Leffler, DDS, Esq., for MedPro Group Initial events An experienced general dentist (we’ll call him Dr. A) on the verge of retirement was greeted as he entered his office [...]
Over 4,200 Texas Dental Patients Affected By Data Breach
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training Email accounts were accessed after a business associate’s employees responded to phishing emails In what's becoming a sad yet familiar tale, a [...]
Dental Supply Shortages—What’s the Latest?
What could be in low supply next? What supply constraints seem to be easing? In this webinar, Ahmed Shams, CEO of SourceOne Dental (TDA Perks Supplies), provides the latest on the ongoing supply chain issues [...]
When Personal Relationships Affect Professional Care
By Marc Leffler, DDS, Esq., for MedPro Group Case Study Background A 59-year-old woman had been a patient of the same general dentist since she was in her teens, shortly after the [...]
Right of Access Violation Costs Provider $80,000
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training “And the hits just keep on coming!”1 Last month, The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) imposed [...]
The Most Important Part Of Your Emergency Kit: What It Is And How To Use It
It might come as a surprise, but the most important part of emergency preparedness is not in your drug kit. In this webinar, Rose Dodson of Sedation Resource shares what is the most likely emergency [...]
Reduce Friction in the Patient Experience by Delivering the 3 Cs.
By Shirley Misiak; VP of Strategic Partnership, Dental, CareCredit Enhancing the patient experience, and as a result increasing production, can be as easy as the 3Cs: confidence, convenience, and comfort. Luckily, [...]
Dentist Misjudges Bone Height During Implant Placement, Resulting in Damage to the Inferior Alveolar Nerve; Malpractice Lawsuit Follows
By Mario Catalano, DDS, MAGD, for MedPro Group Introduction Every new dentist faces the same dilemma: there is no replacement for experience. As new dentists settle into practice, hopefully they understand their [...]
Provide Sedation? Here’s What You Need to Know About Monitors.
By Rose Dodson, M.S., CEO; Sedation Resource, Inc.What makes a device a monitor? What meets state requirements and my practice needs?While it’s generally considered a safe practice, there’s a level of mortality [...]
Why You Could Be Fined for Not Using a Respirator During AGPs
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training NIOSH (the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) announced Respiratory Protection Week will be observed this week, Sept. 7–10, 2021. Yes, [...]
Prepare to Grow
Presented by Tom Angeloni of Bank of America Practice Solutions. If you're an established dentist interested in growing your practice by increasing its size, acquiring a second location, or merging with another practice, this webinar [...]
Four Ways to Beat Cybercriminals at Their Own Game
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect No one likes to be manipulated, yet we are subjected to invasive tactics in our email to get us to click a link, give access to sensitive [...]
Texas Woman to Serve Prison Time for Stealing PHI
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training “HIPAA Journal” reports that the Department of Justice announced a Texas woman was sentenced by a federal court in the Eastern District of [...]
Through the Looking Glass: Strategies for Managing Patients Who Have Red Flags for Body Dysmorphic Disorder
By Laura M. Cascella, MA, CPHRM for MedPro Group Patient Safety & Risk Solutions Healthcare providers who offer cosmetic and aesthetic services often take satisfaction in knowing that they are helping [...]
Video Communications are Here to Stay
By Dr. Brian Harris for CareCredit This past year, the shift to capturing new patients and strengthening existing patient relationships through digital and video patient communications was driven by necessity. Now, [...]
Typical Timelines for Opening a Practice; Plus Financial Planning Tips
Provided by Xite Realty If you’re planning to open a new practice, it’s very important to know how much time it will likely take to go through the process. And once the [...]
How In-Office Plans Can Help Free You From Insurance, Benefit Your Patients
By Landon Lemoine, VP of Growth at Bento If you’re a motivated dentist looking to separate your practice from mundane and outdated work brought by traditional insurance, incorporating in-office plans into your [...]
Student Loan Education and Refinancing for TDA members
COVID-19 has changed the landscape of student loans and presented challenges to borrowers. The U.S. government provided immediate relief to some student loan borrowers, but there's still more relief being considered. In this webinar, SoFi [...]
How to Create a Content Marketing Strategy that Attracts New Patients
By Pete Johnson, Lasso MD You’ve probably heard it before, but content is king—especially when it comes to digital marketing. Publishing high-quality content audiences find engaging (i.e., content marketing) is a great [...]
The Big Myth on Encryption
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect In the late 1950s, a northern California newspaper published an article about oversized footprints discovered by loggers. Those big feet were the only proof needed for people [...]
Do Not Reuse Disposable Patient-Care Items
By OSHA Review, Inc. If you look at the guidelines and rules of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Texas State Board of Dental Examiners (TSBDE), and the [...]
How Staff Education Can Improve Quality and Enhance Patient Safety and Experience
Provided by MedPro Group Patient Safety & Risk Solutions The quality, knowledge, and dedication of employees play a significant role in the success of any business or organization, including healthcare practices. An [...]
Maximizing Your Practice Value Through Real Estate
By Santee Hathaway, Principal; Xite Realty Every practice goes through a life cycle. You open your first practice, grow your business to ultimately retire and sell your practice. No matter what stage [...]
PPOs in 2021: A Vastly Different New Normal
How does a practice owner keep up with the ever changing climate of the PPO? There are new leased partners, new third party administrators, new plans, and new rules of engagement. Building an all-encompassing strategy [...]
TSBDE COVID-19 Emergency Rule Expires; OSHA Issues New Emergency Temporary Standard
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training The Texas State Board of Dental Examiners (TSBDE) COVID-19 Emergency Rule expired this past Friday, June 18, and the TSBDE Board announced [...]
Dentist Does Not Disclose Error Committed by Previously Treating Dentist; Both Are Sued for Malpractice
By Mario Catalano, DDS, MAGD, for MedPro Group Introduction Perfect clinical performance is a noble, but unachievable, goal in dentistry—errors can and will occur during the course of patient care. Typically, [...]
Is Now the Time to Refinance Your Private Student Loan?
Provided by SoFi Many borrowers are considering their student loan options in light of historically low interest rates, federal student loan payments on pause at least through September 2021, and discussion of [...]
Practice Lease Renewal vs. Relocation
In this webinar, Patrick Valentz, principal of Xite Healthcare Real Estate, talks about the advantages and disadvantages of a lease renewal versus practice relocation.
If You Accept Credit Cards, Here’s How to Keep More of What You Earn.
By Phil Nieto, President; Best Card Do you know what it costs to accept credit cards at your practice? Most dentists have other things on their mind than the minutiae of [...]
The Importance of a Well-Managed Insurance Participation Strategy: A Case Study
By Nicholas Partridge, President; Five Lakes Dental Practice Solutions In today’s PPO-driven world, dental practices are faced with new and evolving challenges. Post COVID, the labor market for experienced dental staff [...]
San Antonio-Based Healthcare Administrative Service Provider Suffers Ransomware Attack
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training CaptureRx, a San Antonio, Texas-based provider of administrative services to healthcare providers, suffered a recent ransomware attack in which files containing the [...]
Legal Case: Anterior Endodontic Treatment Leading to Paresthesia
Provided by MedPro Group Background Facts A 37-year-old man presented to his general dentist in excruciating pain associated with a lower left canine tooth, #22; the tooth had undergone trauma during [...]
Surprising Ways Electronic Prescribing Can Speed Up Your Workflow (2021)
You’re complying with the law to electronically prescribe controlled substances. But are you taking full advantage of the ways e-Prescribing improves the clinical workflow? In this webinar, iCoreConnect will teach you how to maximize your [...]
The Opioid Crisis Seeded a Best Practice Opportunity
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect The U.S. and state Attorneys General are aggressively pursuing cases against practitioners, pharmacies, and pharmaceutical companies for their alleged role in contributing to the opioid crisis. [...]
A Helpful Way to Tell Patients About the Connection Between Oral and Overall Health
By Gary Kadi for CareCredit The Coronavirus (COVID-19) helped educate patients on how good hygiene habits such as hand washing can help prevent contagious infection. It also highlighted how important having [...]
A Provider is Fined $30,000 for Not Providing Patient with Requested Records
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training Right of Access (ROA): HIPAA’s New Focus How quickly does your practice respond to your patients’ request for records? If your office [...]
Not Your Average Dental Network
In this webinar, Jesse Diliberto shows you how Bento's advanced network has your practice getting paid directly from the source of the benefit. No need to file claims or wait for pre-treatment authorizations.
Environmental Surface Disinfection in Dentistry During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Provided by OSHA Review, Inc. Routine environmental surface disinfection procedures are appropriate for controlling SARS-CoV-21 in all dental healthcare settings—including patient-care areas where aerosol-generating procedures are performed—according to the US Centers [...]
Poor Communication Between Providers and Deceptive Communication With Patient Leads to Malpractice Lawsuit
By Mario Catalano, DDS, MAGD for MedPro Group Introduction To err is human. This observation from the Institute of Medicine was true when written in the landmark 1999 publication To Err [...]
In-Office Dental Plans are Changing the Game.
By Landon Lemoine, VP of Growth at Bento It’s a fact: Americans with access to dental benefits are more likely to go to the dentist, take their children to the dentist, [...]
You Can Make PPO Participation More Profitable.
By Nicholas Partridge, President; Five Lakes Dental Practice Solutions PPO dental insurance is prevalent, but it’s become more complicated. From the shore, the sea looks rough. How can you navigate it [...]
Five Ways e-Prescribing is Faster and Better Than Prescribing the Old Ways
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect Electronically prescribing all medications—everything from antifungals, antibiotics and pain meds to controlled substances—reduces steps and saves time in your day. Here are five tasks cloud-based e-Prescribing software [...]
TSBDE Extends COVID-19 Emergency Rule
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training On February 19, 2021, the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners (TSBDE) voted unanimously to adopt a new COVID-19 emergency rule—22 Texas Administrative [...]
Generate Recurring Revenue with a Patient Membership Plan
Setting up patient membership plans with Bento is one of the simplest ways to grow your revenue in 2021. In this webinar, Jesse Diliberto shows you how.
Medical Clearance: What Dentists Should Know
By MaryAnn Digman, RN, MSHA, and Gail Harris, RN, MS, MA for MedPro Group As patients are living longer, it is likely that they will develop medical conditions that could be problematic [...]
COVID Hit Practices Hard. Cut Costs Where They’ll Likely Go Up: Credit Card Processing.
By Phil Nieto, President; Best Card The COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on the entire economy—including the dental industry. It’s also affecting payment processing in a big way for dental [...]
Lack of Respirator Use and Respiratory Protection Program Continues to Put Dental Practices at Risk
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart TrainingI’m a little late this year in reviewing 2020 from a compliance standpoint. That doesn’t mean it was any less exciting than others.In reviewing [...]
e-Prescribing: What You Need to Know and Why It Makes Sense for All Prescriptions
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect If you haven't switched to electronic prescribing (e-Prescribing), here are key things you need to know. It’s the law for controlled substances. Texas law now requires [...]
COVID-19 Update for Dentistry
In this webinar, Smart Training Vice-President of Healthcare Lee Slaton provides an update on COVID-19 and how it's affecting dental practices. You'll glean insight gathered from Smart Training’s compliance advisors inspecting practices across the country [...]
Three Points to Note on Dental Marketing in 2021
By Pete Johnson, Lasso User-Generated Content is Emerging as a Marketing Tool. Video is Dominating. With social distancing severely limiting in-person interaction, dental practices and marketers are relying on a heavy [...]
Liability Implications Associated With Jousting in Dentistry
By Marcy A. Metzgar for MedPro Group Definition In dentistry, jousting refers to a dentist being critical of another dentist’s treatment and assuming inadequate care was provided to a patient. In turn, [...]
Over 1,000,000 Dental Patients Affected By Data Breach: A Cautionary Tale
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training A breach report submitted to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights shows that 1,004,304 patients [...]
Electronic Prescribing for Controlled Substances is the Law. And it Works for You and Your Patients.
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect As of January 1, two electronic prescribing laws are in effect. The first is the Texas law mandating Electronic Prescribing for Controlled Substances (EPCS) required for [...]
Bank of America Start-up Financing: Starting a Practice in 2021
Provided by Bank of America Practice Solutions Since 1996, Bank of America Practice Solutions has helped dentists across the nation reach their goals through smart financial solutions and helpful guidance. Whether dentists are starting a [...]
Legal Case: The Ever-Persistent Unhappy Patient
Provided by MedPro Group There are many ways dissatisfied patients can seek monetary compensation from and/or restitution from dentists whom they believe improperly treated them. There are a number of paths [...]
829K Record Data Breach Illustrates Importance of Business Associate Agreements (BAA)
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training Of course, as a health care provider, you’re responsible for your patients’ protected health information (PHI). But what if one of your [...]
Treatment of Personal Friend Clouds Dentist’s Judgment, Resulting in Missed Diagnosis and Loss of Teeth
By Mario Catalano, DDS, MAGD for MedPro Group Background Nonadherent (also called noncompliant) patients are nothing new to the practice of dentistry. When patients won’t adhere to treatment plans and/or refuse [...]
Electronic Prescribing: The New Law that Makes Your Practice Work Better
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect It’s tough to keep up with all the changes happening in dentistry right now. One change you don’t want to miss is the January 1st Texas law [...]
Buying, Starting or Growing Your Dental Practice
Becoming a practice owner can be the most rewarding experience of your career, both personally and financially. The great news is that owning a practice can happen as early as 12 months out of dental [...]
Aging Out of Pediatric Dentistry
Provided by MedPro Group Question When should older pediatric dental patients transition to general dental practices? Answer Pediatric dentists sometimes find that they’re treating older pediatric patients who have become young [...]
Surprising Ways e-Prescribing Can Speed Your Workflow
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect It’s not every day the dental industry celebrates the arrival of a new law. However, if you view Texas House Bill 2174 as a lead domino, [...]
Three Time-Saving Features to Look for in Your e-Prescribing Software
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnectOn January 1st, you will need to electronically prescribe all Schedule II-V controlled substances. This is good news if you would like to create time in your work [...]
Sobering Findings Regarding COVID-19 and Aerosols
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training A recent review and study provide more information on the effectiveness of pre-procedural rinses in reducing bacterial and viral loads emitted by dental [...]
OSHA’s Mandatory Respiratory Protection Program (RPP)
Practice Owners: You can’t stick your head in the sand any longer. Hefty fines and/or putting your license and employees at risk are the logical and likely outcomes of failing to implement an OSHA-mandated Respiratory [...]
Ethical Concerns About Terminating a Provider–Patient Relationship During the Pandemic
By Laura M. Cascella, MA, CPHRM for MedPro Group The outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rocked the healthcare community, sending ripples of uncertainty in relation to patient and healthcare worker safety, [...]
e-Prescribing: It’s Time for Action
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect It may be tempting to push right up to the Jan. 1 deadline to comply with the Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances (EPCS) law. But it’s [...]
OSHA Fines Dentist $9,500 During Pandemic. The Reason: Lack of Respiratory Protection Program
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training The week of Sept. 16 wasn’t a pleasant one for a Massachusetts-based dentist. That’s when OSHA announced it charged the practice owner [...]
COVID-Friendly Payments
The need to safely accept payments with minimal patient contact is leading offices to rethink card acceptance procedures, and causing dentists to rethink how payment fees affect their bottom line. From contactless readers to mobile [...]
Dentist Relies on Assistant’s Assessment and Improper Treatment Results
By Mario Catalano, DDS, MAGD for MedPro Group Background A challenge in any healthcare setting is maintaining a healthy patient load for a profitable practice, but not becoming too busy that [...]
Bank of America Partners with Hispanic Dental Association
Provided by Bank of America Practice Solutions Bank of America Practice Solutions has established a new corporate sponsorship with the Hispanic Dental Association (HDA). This new sponsorship is part of Bank of America’s recently announced [...]
Participate in Dental Insurance Networks? Here’s What You Must Know and Do to Stop Losing Money.
By Nicholas Partridge, President; Five Lakes Dental Practice Solutions Dental insurance plays a significant role in practices, affecting offices broadly. It can affect treatment plans, case acceptance, visit frequencies, office administration, [...]
Significant Changes to Emergency Rule, Effective August 25, 2020
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training On Aug. 24, the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners (TSBDE) unanimously voted to adopt a new COVID-19 emergency rule (22 Texas [...]
Surprising Ways Electronic Prescribing Can Speed Up Your Workflow
Swapping your prescription pad and pen for an ePrescription service can improve your workflow dramatically if done in certain ways. Electronic prescriptions will soon be required when prescribing Schedule II-V controlled substances in Texas, including [...]
Complications Occur During Root Canal Therapy, Resulting in Malpractice Lawsuit Against Two Treating Dentists
By Mario Catalano, DDS, MAGD for MedPro Group Background As in the practice of all healthcare, the practice of dentistry is imperfect science. Even when exercising all due care, complications do [...]
Three Important Considerations for Sedation Providers Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Rose Dodson, B.S., CEO; Sedation Resource, Inc. The year 2020 is not one the world will soon forget. For the dental industry, it’s been especially challenging to get moving again. Can [...]
Why Every Prescription Should Be Electronic
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect The Texas law mandating e-prescribing of controlled substances has a rapidly-approaching compliance deadline of January 1, 2021. It may feel cumbersome to have another mandate to deal [...]
HSAs are Better Than Ever. Here’s Why.
By Eric Tiedtke, TDA Financial Services Insurance Program As dentists get back to work in Texas, many with the help of the PPP Act, you might have missed some other good news [...]
PPO Participation & Strategies
TDA Perks Program partner Five Lakes addresses five very important questions in this webinar. 1. What steps should a practice/group be taking with regard to PPO insurance? 2. How does a practice develop a PPO [...]
Business Crime is on the Rise. Two Kinds of Insurance Can Help Recover Losses and Expenses.
Provided by TDA Financial Services Insurance Program Business Crime Insurance Crime is a significant liability for any business—especially for businesses that deal in cash or use online payment systems. U.S. organizations [...]
How to Leave Insurance Plans (A Five-Part Series)
Many dental providers desire to be fee-for-service. Join Nick Partridge, president of Five Lakes Dental Practice Solutions, as he covers how to: Evaluate your practice to determine feasibility of leaving. Quantify the potential impact [...]
Signs Your “Compliant” Email Service Isn’t Actually Compliant (Or That It’s Time to Upgrade)
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect Many email services claim to be HIPAA-compliant, but an unsettling number may only loosely meet federal law. It’s an understatement to say all HIPAA-compliant email services are [...]
Dentist’s Underestimation of Adverse Event Complications Leads to Malpractice Suit
By Mario Catalano, DDS, MAGD for MedPro Group Background In the practice of dentistry, as in all healthcare, we strive for perfect results. However, sooner or later, a case occurs in [...]
Reimbursement Rates are Going Down. Here’s Why, and What You Can Do.
By Nicholas Partridge, President; Five Lakes Dental Practice Solutions With COVID-19 and PPE costs, thinking strategically and optimizing your insurance participation is more important than ever. In today’s world, providers must contend [...]
A Cloud-Based Practice Management System Can Help You Recover Time, Revenue
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect With the daily time-consuming routine of disinfecting, gowning up and testing patients, you have less time to see patients and focus on business. Like many, you’re probably [...]
A team member or recently-treated patient has COVID-19. What should I do?
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training In the past two weeks, I received probably a dozen calls from dental practices asking one of two basic questions: “Lee, I have [...]
Student Loans and COVID-19: What You Need to Know
Have the events of the last few months left you with questions and uncertainty about your personal finances? Not sure of the financial steps you should be taking? SoFi will teach you tips and tricks [...]
Dentist Misjudges Patient’s Tongue Lesion, Resulting in Missed Oral Cancer Diagnosis
By Mario Catalano, DDS, MAGD for MedPro Group Background A necessary prerequisite to efficacious dental treatment is an accurate diagnosis. Misdiagnosis can result in failure to treat, undertreatment, or overtreatment. As this [...]
Investing? In This Economy?
Provided by SoFi With all the uncertainty and volatility in today’s world, its often difficult to understand what to do with your personal finances. We’re here to outline some of the [...]
More on Respiratory Protection Programs
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training My last article probably generated more questions than I’ve ever received in the last three years of writing these articles. I thought this [...]
DSO vs. CEO: Evaluating Your Career Options as an Associate Dentist
Presented by Bank of America Practice Solutions, this course addresses a question every dentist faces at various points in their career: "Should I work as an associate, or venture into private practice by purchasing or [...]
COVID-19 and Workers’ Compensation Claims
Provided by TDA Financial Services Insurance Program Practice owners may find themselves in a very unique position, given the environment surrounding the COVID‐19 pandemic. What should you do if an employee is exposed to [...]
Set Your Office Fees: A 5-Part Series
Join Nick Partridge, President of Five Lakes Dental Practice Solutions, as he presents five short episodes on how to set your office fees. Step 1: Benchmark Your Fees to the Market. (6 min) Step 2: [...]
Marketing Successfully in a Post-COVID-19 World
In this webinar, Get Practice Growth Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer Pete Johnson discusses marketing strategies practices should consider deploying in a post-COVID 19 world. In particular, Pete focuses on the power using video to [...]
Lingual Nerve Injury of Uncertain Etiology Leads to Malpractice Suit Against General Dentist
By Mario Catalano, DDS, MAGD for MedPro Group Background Many malpractice suits against dentists result from care that seemed routine and unremarkable when rendered. However, when patient injury results—whatever the cause—the [...]
N95 Respirators and Competing Regulatory Authorities: What You Really Need to Know
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training We’ve been answering a lot of inquires the last two weeks regarding N95 (and their equivalent) respirators. Until the COVID-19 pandemic, N95s were [...]
Three Easy Ways to Be More Attractive to Patients
Provided by CareCredit Heraclitus, a pre-Socractic Greek philosopher, said the only constant in life is change. A little over 2,400 years later, that insight couldn’t be more true, especially in a [...]
7 Recommendations for IT Security Through the Coronavirus and Beyond
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect With Texas dental practices able to reopen Friday, May 1, it’s imperative to reevaluate your IT security protocols, both in the office and when working remotely. Why? [...]
PPE in Dentistry: N95/KN95 Masks—Sorting Out the Differences
Have you given any thought about the personal protective equipment you'll need or want when your office is back up and running? In this webinar, Rose Dodson of Sedation Resource discusses the options, the current [...]
Legal Case: That Happened When?
RAWLE & HENDERSON LLP; Marc R. Leffler, Esq., Partner | William S. Spiegel, Esq., Partner for MedPro Group Different states have different time limitations (known as statutes of limitations) as to [...]
I need health insurance right now. What are my options?
By Eric Tiedtke, TDA Financial Services Insurance Program Most insurance companies only sell health plans during an open enrollment period that starts in November. But there are other options if you need [...]
Data Breaches Are the Real HIPAA Threat.
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training You’ve heard HIPAA consultants drone on about the risk of being chosen for a HIPAA audit by the Office for Civil Rights. But [...]
Infection Control: Two Points to Note
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training In the last two weeks, I lead several video conferences on infection control best practices, as dental practices have taken this downtime to [...]
Six Steps to Recovering Revenue Lost During the Coronavirus Outbreak
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect Nearly every Texas dentist is affected by the COVID-19 shutdown. The biggest concern: no patients in the chair means no incoming revenue. It’s important to start planning [...]
Video Marketing & Data–The Next Evolution in Dental Marketing
With how competitive things have become, dental practices are looking for ways to stay ahead of their competition. In this webinar, Get Practice Growth Co-Founder Pete Johnson provides insights on trends and marketing strategies practices [...]
COVID-19 and Insurance
Provided by TDA Financial Services Insurance Program Businesses continue to be more and more impacted by the coronavirus. This is certainly true for our dentists. As business services are limited or even shut down, [...]
Miscommunication Between Orthodontist and General Dentist Results in Unintended Extraction of Permanent Tooth
By Mario Catalano, DDS, MAGD for MedPro Group Background In healthcare risk management, miscommunication is often a precursor to a misunderstanding and—ultimately—a mistake. The following case aptly illustrates how the likelihood [...]
Special Update: Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Recommendations for Dental Practices
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training I’d like to begin this month’s compliance article with gratitude for a deadline extension on this article to less than 12 hours before [...]
How to Save on Credit Card Processing Fees
By Jennifer Nieto, President; Best Card Have you noticed the cost to process your patients’ credit cards is increasing faster than your card sales? If so, you’re not alone. What’s behind the [...]
Some Commonly-Prescribed Medications are on the Controlled Substances List. Here are Several that Require a Check with the PMP.
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect March 1st was the deadline to prepare your office for the Texas Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PMP) mandate. The law requires prescribing doctors to review a patient's [...]
It’s Time to Comply with Prescription Drug Monitoring and ePrescribe Mandates.
Starting March 1st, all Texas providers are required to check the Texas Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PMP) with every prescription for opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, or carisoprodol (Schedule II-V). Understanding the law and integrating ePrescriptions and [...]
Can Your Practice Benefit From a Personal Electronic Device Policy?
Provided by MedPro Group More than ever, people are using personal electronic devices (PEDs)—such as laptops, cellphones, tablets, e-readers, and other “smart” devices—as part of everyday life. This trend will undoubtedly continue to grow as [...]
Avoiding Allegations of Negligent Referral in Dentistry
Provided by MedPro Group Patient Safety & Risk Solutions What Is Negligent Referral? Occasionally, dentists are accused of “negligent referral”—referring patients to specialists who mishandle the patients’ cases and cause injuries. This [...]
How TDA Members Benefited from TDA Perks Program in 2019
As a TDA member, you have free access to TDA Perks Program’s many resources, including information that can save you a lot of time and access to significant savings on essentials [...]
Two similar North-Texas data breaches will probably have very different outcomes. Here’s why.
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training “Come listen to a story ‘bout a man named Jed” kept rolling through my brain as I was organizing this article in my [...]
Legal Case: The Injuries That Weren’t
Provided by Rawle & Henderson LLP; Marc R. Leffler, Esq., Partner; William S. Spiegel, Esq., Partner for the MedPro Group In order to prove a case in dental malpractice, a plaintiff [...]
The PMP law goes into effect March 1st. Here’s what it does and how to register.
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect In six weeks, the state mandate to use the Texas Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) when prescribing controlled substances goes into effect. What does using the PMP accomplish? [...]
Employment Practices Liability (EPL) Insurance
Provided by TDA Financial Services Insurance ProgramEmployers can face a number of lawsuits and claims related to their business practices, and don’t even have to be in the wrong to be sued. [...]
New Year’s Resolution: Get Your [Regulatory] House In Order
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training January is a great time to review regulatory practices during huddles with your team—especially those you should be keeping up-to-date. Here are [...]
2019 Compliance Recap: Three Trends I Saw
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training I'm a bit flummoxed as I try to summarize a 2019 regulatory report for you tonight. It’s a mixed bag. For dental [...]
Managing Negative Online Reviews From Patients
Provided by the MedPro GroupThe internet and social media have fundamentally changed the ways in which healthcare consumers gather and exchange information. More and more, patients are looking online to address their healthcare needs and [...]
Advanced Dental Billing: Step Up Your Game
In this webinar, you'll learn: How to fill out a new claim form, and make sure your computer system is using the correct one. What's happening within dental plans. About billing medical codes for procedures [...]
Opioid Prescription Laws in Texas are Changing and Criminal Penalties are Increasing.
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect Get Ready for the Mandated Texas Prescription Monitoring Program. As a Texas dentist, the opioid crisis is a topic of particular relevance to you—whether you prescribe infrequently [...]
Dallas HIPAA Violations Settled for $10K
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training HIPAA Journal reports that the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently settled a case with a Dallas dental practice for impermissible disclosure [...]
2020 Affordable Care Act Update
In this webinar, TDA Financial Services Insurance Program's Eric Tiedtke talks about changes and new options in health insurance for 2020, and how to know if your practice qualifies for group coverage.
Five Common, Punishable HIPAA Violations to Avoid
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect A Dallas dental practice recently settled a HIPAA violation investigation that confirmed it shared Protected Health Information (PHI) of multiple patients in response to Yelp postings. It [...]
Lack of Business Associate Agreement Proves to Be a $31,000 Mistake
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training A small pediatric practice on the wrong end of a HIPAA violation paid a $31,000 fine, and agreed to implement a corrective [...]
New Texas Prescription Monitoring Mandate: Response to the Opioid Epidemic
Laws around the U.S. are rolling out to aggressively curb “doctor shopping.” Texas has formalized its law that will mandate dentists to access a state database for all Schedule II, III, IV and V controlled [...]
Legal Case: Dentist’s Inexperience in Implant Placement Leads to Inferior Alveolar Nerve Damage
Spiegel Leffler PLLC for MedPro Group Over the past decade, the placement of endosseous implants to replace missing teeth has become pervasive in dental practice. In the 1980s, when implants were in their infancy, [...]
Blue Cross Blue Shield Small Group Enrollment Forms Instructions
In this webinar by TDA Financial Services Insurance Program, Eric Tiedtke provides page-by-page instruction on how to complete the 2020 small group health insurance forms for new groups.
North Texas Dentist Fined $5,500 Over Single HIPAA Complaint
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training A recent $5,500 fine imposed by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) on a North Texas dentist is the epitome of a camel’s-nose-under-the-tent [...]
The Dental Insurance Game: Its Rules and Star Players
Is this a game we're in? Many will say so. Presented by Insurance Answers Plus, this introductory webinar on dental insurance outlines the rules, helps you understand each player and role, and guides you in [...]
How Video Can Attract New Patients, and Strengthen Your Bond with Current Ones
By Eric Bunnell and Pete Johnson, Get Practice Growth Many practices would love to incorporate videos into their marketing, but assume it’s time consuming and expensive to create them; and that it [...]
Dentist Misdiagnoses Abscess, Resulting in Loss of Tooth and Malpractice Lawsuit
By Mario Catalano, DDS, MAGD and Theodore Passineau, JD, HRM, RPLU, CPHRM, FASHRM for MedPro Group Unfortunately, in the practice of dentistry, a cluster of symptoms may indicate more than one disease condition. The [...]
Is Your Email HIPAA-Compliant? An acronym can help you determine the answer.
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect Sending and receiving electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) through email can be a safe and effective way to share patient records and sensitive information with other [...]
Flood Insurance Options
Provided by TDA Financial Services Insurance Program If you run a business–especially in a flood-prone area–flood insurance should be an essential component of your disaster preparedness plan. Clean up and recovery [...]
Financial Independence: How to Achieve It and Keep It
Provided by US Bank Achieving financial success isn’t about having a million-dollar idea. It’s about continuously taking small steps forward. Actions have consequences. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the [...]
Is One Patient’s Junk Ending Up in Another’s Mouth?
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training Two questions from our compliance inspection checklist often draw blank stares from clinical staff. Do you flush your air/water syringes at least 20 [...]
How to Validate Your SEO Company’s Performance
In this webinar, you'll go behind the scenes with Get Practice Growth Cofounder Pete Johnson and CTO Phil Mastroianni to get an exclusive look at everything your marketing & SEO company doesn’t want you to [...]
3 Powerful Types of Video to Have on Your Website
Provided by Get Practice Growth Someone just moved to town and needs a dentist. She starts researching on Google, and finds an endless string of dentists’ websites. She has little idea [...]
How to Protect Your Practice from Financial Fraud
By Jennifer Nieto; President, Best Card Financial fraud is a hydra. Every time there’s a leap forward in security procedures, it adapts, growing new heads. Then there’s the fraud that could be [...]
How Google Determines Your Site Ranking; and How to Improve Yours
Provided by Get Practice Growth When you search for something on Google, how does Google determine the order (rankings) of the web pages listed? It scores sites according to their E-A-T levels. [...]
Preventing Embezzlement in the Dental Office
Dental office fraud is disturbingly common and can cost an office tens of thousands of dollars when unnoticed. In this webinar, Best Card will help you understand the nature of fraud and the best office [...]
OSHA Fines: how much are they now; and what triggers an investigation?
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training We’re at the midpoint of the year—a good time to look out over the compliance landscape. One thing that stands out? OSHA fines. [...]
Online Reviews—why they really matter, how to get them, and what’s next
By Eric Bunnell, Get Practice Growth Everyone seems to agree that online reviews are important. However, I don’t believe businesses understand the critical component reviews play in search rankings and decision making—especially [...]
Starting a Successful Dental Practice
Provided by Bank of America Practice Solutions Have you ever thought about practice ownership? Perhaps you’ve exhausted all options in trying to purchase a practice and came to the realization that [...]
DIY: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
By Pete Johnson, Get Practice Growth Search Engine Optimization (SEO), or the pursuit of increasing visibility of a website in search engine results, can lead more potential patients to your practice [...]
Which Mask Should You Wear?
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training Smart Training’s compliance advisors are receiving more and more calls regarding what type of mask to wear in a clinical setting, depending on [...]
HIPAA Compliance & Productivity Through Technology
In this webinar, iCoreConnect Chief Innovation Officer Chris Elley shows you how to be HIPAA compliant in the electronic world, and ways to save time and increase profitability by leveraging today’s tech. You'll also learn [...]
Quick Tips for Great Patient-Practice Financial Conversations
By Carrie Webber and Cathy Jameson, PhD of Jameson Management for CareCredit Practices that understand and embrace the relationship aspect of their work with their patient family are going to have [...]
Could your white lab jacket be doing more harm than good?
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training As we work with clinicians in the field, we often need to remind them (and ourselves) that the lines between exposure control and [...]
Dissection of New Texas Sedation Rules 110.16 and 110.17
In this webinar, Sedation Resource CEO and Founder Rose Dodson will tell you how to know if these rules apply to you, share what's meant by a high risk patient, and provide a complete description [...]
Three HIPAA Compliance Actions You Should Take Right Now
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnect Most providers know HIPAA places certain standards on practices to keep patient data safe—and that failure to meet them results in corrective actions and large fines. [...]
How to Save on Credit Card Processing Fees
By Jennifer Nieto, President; Best Card If you’ve looked at your monthly bills, you know credit card processing fees can be hard to understand and unnecessarily expensive. It doesn’t have to be [...]
Top Three Ways a Practice’s Infection Protocols Can Go South
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training In case you’ve been under a rock the past few news cycles, three dental practices were shut down in Philadelphia in December [...]
How to Grow Your Dental Practice
In this webinar, Xite Realty's Tommy Newton, principal; and Helena Jenkins, senior vice president of project management, will help dentists understand how to build on the success of their current practices. Specifically, you'll learn strategies [...]
Legal Case: Differing Interpretations of Radio-opacities on Radiograph at Trial
Provided by MedPro Group, Spiegel Leffler PLLC In both dentistry and medicine, reading radiographs is an aspect of diagnosis that’s susceptible to subjective judgment. Different interpretations of radiographs can result in [...]
Sending ePHI via Email? Here’s what you need to be HIPAA-compliant.
By Robert McDermott; President/CEO, iCoreConnectDo the words “HIPAA compliance” make your eyes roll? When it comes to emailing Protected Health Information (PHI), HIPAA compliance doesn’t need to be complicated (or pricey)1.First, you’ll [...]
Think the water from your chairs’ water units is safe? You may be in for a big surprise.
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training This month, we’ll address a serious issue that every practice using dental water units should be aware of. And while we’re at [...]
What You Should Know About the Student Loan Tax Deduction
Provided by SoFi Does anyone look forward to doing their taxes? The process feels like an overly complex homework assignment from a very detail-oriented and strict teacher. But the next time [...]
Don’t Ignore Those IFUs (Instructions for Use).
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training Instructions for Use (IFU). They’re available for every product and instrument used in your practice. And they’re boring. (The acronym, less so. [...]
Why You Should Date Stamp Your Sterilization Pouches
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training Recently, one of our senior compliance advisors was inspecting a practice and noticed several spore tests resulted in failures. When quizzing the sterilization [...]
Making This Decision Before Building Your Office Will Help You Stay Focused.
Above: Xite Realty’s development team was engaged to help a client turn a historic property into a dental office and residential space for their practice. By Helena Jenkins; senior vice president of [...]
OSHA Fines–Not Just for Big City Dentists
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training Here we are on the cusp of another year—a good time to look back at what practices are seeing from a compliance [...]
A Great Answer to One of Patients’ Toughest Questions, “Do You Accept My Insurance?”
By Katherine Eitel Belt for CareCredit When the phone rings, the toughest question teams will tell you they get is, “Do you accept my insurance?” This may seem like a simple question, but the [...]
The 2018 Tax Law: What the Changes Mean To You
Provided by US Bank Taxes can be confusing for even the most experienced tax preparers. And now, with the new tax law in place (effective January 1, 2018), there are even [...]
Creating Your Hazardous Chemical Inventory List
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training Last month, we discussed how to identify what products in your practice are considered hazardous. (We created a two-page guide you can download [...]
Offering Same-Day Care Will Help You Stay Competitive. Here’s What It Takes.
By Robert McDermott; President & CEO, iCoreConnect and Robert Maccario, M.B.A.; Business Management Specialist, iCoreConnect More and more dentists are adopting same-day care models. Why? To meet patient expectations and remain [...]
Have a huge SDS book? Why that’s not a good idea, and how to make it sleek and useful.
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training Inspecting several hundred dental practices around the country, I noticed a common feature that could delay proper care in an emergency—and creates extra [...]
HIPAA Compliance Simplified: Using Technology to Your Advantage
If you're sending electronic Protected Health Records (ePHI) via Gmail, Outlook or other internet-based services, you're likely committing HIPAA violations. In this webinar, iCoreConnect guides you step-by-step through the rules and regulations and answers questions.
Why Having Workers’ Compensation Is Good for You and Your Staff
By Alaina Wolfe, TDA Financial Services Insurance Program As a small business owner, you hear about all kinds of insurance you should have. One of the most important is workers’ compensation. Here’s [...]
Paying Off Dental School Debt: Understand your options, so you can decide which is best for you.
Provided by SoFi In dental school, you’re not taught how to handle your dental school debt effectively. Right when dentists are ready to hit go on their careers, the reality of repayment [...]
38,000 Patients’ PHI Exposed Through Phishing Attack on Provider
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training Portland, OR-based provider Legacy Health discovered an unauthorized individual gained access to its email system and the protected health information (PHI) of [...]
Patient Noncompliance and Dentist’s Inexperience Produce Suboptimal Outcome and Lawsuit
By Mario Catalano, DDS, MAGD for MedPro Group When starting a dental career, it is an ideal arrangement for new dentists to associate with more experienced dentists for mentorship. The value of an experienced [...]
If you want to keep good employees, here’s the benefit that matters most.
By Eric Tiedtke, TDA Financial Services Insurance Program Workers overwhelmingly (87%) consider health insurance to be the most important workplace benefit when considering whether to stay in a current job or [...]
Three Things Your Office Should Be Doing: A Compliance Advisor in the Field Shares Important Tips
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training After performing compliance inspections at several hundred dental practices around the country, I found trends quickly became evident. (Interestingly, the ebb and [...]
How to Stage Your Home to Make It Sell
Provided by Liberty Mutual Research shows that it pays to take the time to employ simple staging techniques to help it stand out from the pack¹. In fact, a 2015 survey [...]
How to Prevent a Cybercrime Attack at Your Practice (or a Practice Shutdown)
By Robert McDermott, President & CEO / iCoreConnect This is the third article in a three-part series on cybercrime. Phishing and malware, including ransomware, are of particular concern to your practice, [...]
3 Ways Real Estate Can Maximize Goodwill and Attract More Potential Buyers
By Tommy Newton and Brandon Fauley, Xite Realty As you reach the midpoint of your dental career, ask yourself how the remainder of your time can be spent wisely reinvesting in [...]
How Do You Know If You’re a Victim of Cybercrime? And What Can Happen When You Are?
By Robert McDermott, President & CEO / iCoreConnect This is the second article in a three-part series on cybercrime. Phishing and malware, including ransomware, are of particular concern to your practice, [...]
Navigating the New Texas Nitrous and Sedation Rules
What exactly is an emergency preparedness plan and where the heck can I get one? Log books? Equipment checks? Pretracheal stethoscopes? These are just a few of the things Sedation Resource will define for you [...]
Do Hackers See Your Practice as Easy Money? Here’s How to Protect Yourself.
By Robert McDermott, President/CEO; iCoreConnectRecently a Roanoke, Virginia dentist told a local news station that her patients received “aggressive” emails telling them they owed money for services they never received. Those patients [...]
Texas Healthcare Provider Fined $4.3 Million for Three Data Breaches
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart TrainingThe Office of Civil Rights (OCR) just announced fines totaling $4.3 million against MD Anderson Medical Center to resolve violations related to three data [...]
Healthcare is the Top Target of Cyber Criminals. Here’s Why, and How They Attack.
By Robert McDermott, President & CEO / iCoreConnect This is the first article in a three-part series on cyber crime. Phishing and malware, including ransomware, are of particular concern to your [...]
Preparing For High Risk Situations In Dental Practices
While very rare, emergencies occurring in the dental office can produce disastrous results if not handled properly. This webinar is presented by MedPro medical/dental risk manager and former paramedic Ted Passineau, who has worked as [...]
Ransomware Shuts Down Texas Dental Practice Twice
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training A Texas dental practice was recently forced to shut down twice—for several days each time—because of ransomware attacks. Though the origin of [...]
Strategic Planning: The At-Risk Pediatric Patient
Provided by MedPro Group Patient Safety & Risk Solutions Untreated dental issues in children are a societal problem. Although most dentists are aware of their ethical and legal obligations to at-risk pediatric [...]
HIPAA Technical Safeguard: Transmission Security
By Robert McDermott, President/CEO; iCoreConnect This is the final article of a five-part series that looks at the area of HIPAA law known as “Technical Safeguards.” Technical safeguards are designed to [...]
Saving Energy: Simple Ways to Save Money by Conserving Energy
Provided by US Bank By using even a few of the following practices, you can drastically cut your annual CO2 emissions, help protect the environment, and save money on your energy bills. [...]
What is the Gray Market, and Why Should You Care?
By Ahmed Shams, TDA Perks Supplies Because TDA Perks Supplies offers large discounts on dental supplies, TDA members often wonder if the products are gray market items. (The answer is an emphatic [...]
Top Tips for a Successful Dental Practice Acquisition
Provided by Bank of America Practice Solutions The thoughts and suggestions in this article are from the perspective of a lender with more than 20 years of experience in dental practice financing. [...]
Dental Receptionist Steals PHI; Receives 2-6 Year Jail Sentence.
By Lee Slaton, Vice President of Healthcare; Smart Training A former receptionist at a dental practice in New York was sentenced to 2 to 6 years of prison for stealing the [...]
HIPAA Technical Safeguard: Integrity
By Robert McDermott, President/CEO; iCoreConnect This is the fourth article of a five-part series that looks at the area of HIPAA law known as “Technical Safeguards.” Technical safeguards are designed to [...]
Collaborating With Advanced Practice Providers: Strategies for Physicians and Dentists
By Laura M. Cascella, MAGD for MedPro Group Improving communication among healthcare providers is a topic that, without doubt, is familiar to most physicians and dentists. Although this concept may seem to receive a [...]
Dental Real Estate: Start-ups to Ground Ups and Everything in Between
This educational webinar presented by Xite Realty covers all areas of dental real estate. Topics of discussion include: start-ups, relocation, expansion, purchases of land and buildings, as well as ground-up development. The pros and cons [...]
7 Rules for Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
By Jennifer Nieto, Best CardSwiped debit transactions are least expensive.Of debit cards, those issued by major banks that are federally regulated will yield the lowest rate.¹ Regulated banks are those with over $10 [...]
Dentist’s License Suspended Over Lack of Infection Control Processes
Provided by Smart Training A site visit on March 5 by the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control resulted in the suspension of a New Hampshire dentist’s license. According to the suspension order, [...]
Environmental Surface Disinfection: CDC’s Guidelines for Dental Offices—Simplified
Provided by OSHA Review, Inc.Disinfection and sterilization are essential for preventing the transmission of infectious pathogens to patients and healthcare workers.This article helps simplify Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines¹ for [...]
FAQs About AEDs in Texas Dental Offices
In this webinar, Sedation Resource explains whether or not AEDs fall within the new regulations that require certain dentists to have an automated external defibrillator (AED) at their office.
HIPAA Technical Safeguard: Authentication
By Robert McDermott, President/CEO; iCoreConnect This is the third article of a five-part series that looks at the area of HIPAA law known as “Technical Safeguards.” Technical safeguards are designed to [...]
Fun Indoor Activities for You and the Kids
A message from Liberty Mutual Insurance When it’s raining, or hot weather compels your family to retreat indoors, you can make indoor activities a bonding experience for the family, with a [...]
HIPAA Fine: $6,666 per Patient File Breached
Provided by Smart Training In 2018’s first HIPAA settlement, Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA) agreed to pay a $3.5 million fine for HIPAA violations that resulted from data breaches that [...]
HIPAA Technical Safeguard: Audit Control
By Robert McDermott, President/CEO; iCoreConnectThis is the second article of a five-part series that looks at the area of HIPAA law known as “Technical Safeguards.” Technical safeguards are designed to protect electronic [...]
10 Things to Consider Before Practice Ownership
In this webinar, Bank of America Practice Solutions educates the first time dental practice owner on what it takes to start a practice from scratch or acquire an existing practice. You'll be guided through the [...]
Accept credit cards? PCI compliance, data security require action on your part.
By Jennifer Nieto; President of RJ Card Processing, Inc. dba Best Card Every few months it seems like there are more revelations of large scale data breaches that expose the personal or [...]
It’s Time to Review Your Compliance Program, and Ensure It’s Up-to-Date.
Provided by Smart Training Review Your Written Safety Plans. For most practices, three written safety plans are required in order to be in compliance with OSHA safety regulations: exposure control, hazard communication, [...]
Think Your Practice Doesn’t Have Cyber Threats? Five Misconceptions About Cyber Liability and Data Breach Coverage
By Pamela Tyrone, CISR; TDA Financial Services Insurance Program 1. I don’t do business online, so I don’t need cyber liability and data breach coverage. The biggest threat is loss of information [...]
HIPAA Technical Safeguard: Access Control
By Robert McDermott, iCoreConnect This is the first article of a five-part series looking at the aspect of HIPAA law known as "Technical Safeguards." In this brief article, we address “Access [...]
Do You Know Your Dental Business Insurance Basics?
In this webinar, TDA Financial Services Insurance Program's Alaina Wolfe explains what’s covered under a Business Owners Policy (BOP), General Liability, Workers’ Compensation, and Crime and Cyber coverage. You'll also learn how to set your [...]
Insuring Your Business: What Do You Need?
By Alaina Wolfe, TDA Financial Services Insurance Program From the moment you opened your dental practice you’ve been making decisions. From your business location, the employees you hire, your practice’s state-of-the art [...]
OSHA Fines North Texas Dentist $5,900 for Two Violations
Provided by Smart TrainingOSHA recently fined a North Texas dental practice over $5,900 for two different violations of the Bloodborne Pathogens standard.What were the violations?OSHA asserted that the practice: 1. Did not [...]
When Disaster Strikes, Strike Back: Preparing for and Managing Environmental Emergencies
By Laura M. Cascella, MA, for MedProHistory has shown society’s vulnerability to a myriad of disasters—but it also has shown how preparedness efforts can have a significant impact on disaster outcomes. Despite an element of [...]
Why Preventing Data Breaches Should Be a Top Priority, and 5 Prevention Steps
By Lee Slaton, Vice-President for Healthcare; Smart Training LLC For the past five years, the Office for Civil Rights has continually threatened widespread HIPAA enforcement action via large-scale office compliance audits. To [...]
OSHA fines dental practice over $61,000.
Provided by Smart Training OSHA cited MD Dental Center PC (doing business as Smile Center Dental) for 26 alleged serious violations. An inspection at the company’s facility in Washington, D.C. was [...]
OSHA Increases Fines by 78%.
Provided by Smart TrainingIn last year’s federal budget, a provision was included allowing OSHA to increase fines by approximately 78%, effective Aug. 1, 2016.The provision also stated that going forward, OSHA fines [...]
Are You Paying Attention to Your Bottom Line? Trends in Dentistry Payments
Best Card data indicates that from 2009-2016, the (monthly-average) dollar amount processed on credit cards increased by more than 50% for dental practices. When any part of your business grows that much so quickly, you [...]
How to Leverage Your TDA Perks Television Channel to Increase Revenue
TDA Perks Television Network shows you how to get the most out of your free private TV channel.
EPA Dental Regulation on Amalgam Waste Passes. Here’s What You Need to Know.
Provided by Solmetex The EPA recently announced the compliance effective date of July 14, 2017 for the regulation titled “Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for Dental Offices.” Commonly referred to as the [...]
The Student Loan Crisis; and What You Can do About Your Debt
Student loan debt has exceeded $1 trillion, and is second only to mortgage debt in the United States. In this webinar, SoFi will cover the following topics: The US student loan crisis (an overview) [...]
Do You Have Enough Disability Income Insurance?
By Eric Tiedtke, TDA Financial Services Insurance Program Hopefully, as a practicing dentist, you have disability insurance in place as a part of a comprehensive financial plan. These policies can give you [...]
A Dentist’s Guide to Selecting the Right Office Location
How to Use Four Types of Data to Your Advantage By Santee Hathaway, Principal of Xite Realty A modern, full-service dental office sits on a corner of a major freeway of a [...]
Protecting Your Patients’ PHI Against Ransomware
By Smart TrainingProtecting patient data requires you to pay attention to: access control, social media posts, and physical security.Here, we focus on access control, and how ransomware can compromise your patients' PHI and [...]
Ignorance Won’t Fly When an OSHA Inspector Walks In Your Door
Smart Training walks through what’s required for dental practices to be OSHA compliant, and the problems the compliance company's seen most often the last three years. You'll also learn the answers to these top questions: [...]
The Basics of Life Insurance
By Eric Tiedtke, TDA Financial Services Insurance ProgramYou probably need life insurance, or might in the future, if you have any of the following: spouse, children, house, partner, practice loan, student loan, [...]
What’s Your Plan If You Become Too Sick or Injured to Work as a Dentist?
By Eric Tiedtke, TDA Financial Services Insurance ProgramThe leading causes of disability (approximately 18%) in the United States are mental/nervous disorders (depression, anxiety, etc.) and substance abuse.In addition to these diseases, practicing [...]
How to Set Your Practice Strategy
If you're considering starting a dental practice in the next 2 years, this webinar will be beneficial to establishing the foundation of your practice, and even aid you when you're building your business plan. Tommy [...]
Prepping for the Family Vacation
A message from Liberty Mutual Insurance A family vacation can be the ultimate bonding experience. Whether you’re after adventure or relaxation, these trips can create long-lasting memories for everyone involved. And with [...]
Talk About Money with Confidence
By Amy Morgan for CareCredit The financial conversation is one of the most important dialogues that happen in the dental practice. Yet so many dental team members are uncomfortable discussing fees [...]
Understand Today’s Best Management Practices of Amalgam Waste
No subject in the dental industry is more polarizing than that of amalgam waste. The EPA states that dental practices are the main source of mercury discharge through wastewater. In this webinar, Solmetex takes on [...]
Starting a Practice While Paying Off Student Loans
By Jason Compton, SoFi Starting a medical practice soon after finishing a medical residency or graduating from dental school may sound a bit crazy. But it’s a real and very serious option—one [...]
Social Media Can Open Doors to HIPAA Violations
By Lee Slaton, Smart Training By responding to a patient review on social media recently, a Texas dental practice found itself in hot water with the U.S. Department of Health and [...]
How to Use TDA Perks Supplies to Add Thousands to Your Bottom Line
An eye-opening, half-hour webinar with TDA Perks Supplies, the program that leverages the buying power of 7,400 TDA members to provide significant savings on dental supplies. Through this program, you can purchase the same dental [...]
5 HIPAA Technical Safeguards Explained
By Don Douglas, iMedicor We’ve all been there. You go to a meeting and someone talks about HIPAA compliance. You leave, ready to conquer the HIPAA monster. But come Monday morning, [...]
Teaching Your Teens to Be Safe and Smart on Social Media
A message from Liberty Mutual Insurance Whether it’s on their computers, tablets or smartphones, most teenagers go online multiple times a day. And a lot of that time is spent on [...]
A Simple Inventory System That Can Save You Thousands
By Ahmed Shams, TDA Perks Supplies Many offices may be paying higher prices for products because of the need for next-day delivery. When you buy a car, you wouldn’t tell the [...]
Testing Your Autoclave Isn’t Optional. Here are two important compliance tips.
By Lee Slaton, Smart Training Have you completed spore testing recently? Untested autoclaves can lead to sick patients. They also leave a practice owner open to stiff fines; even suspension of [...]
Credit Card Processing Costs Increasing? Here’s What You Can Do to Lower Them.
By Jennifer Nieto, Best Card 2009 was one of the worst years for the economy in recent memory. The economy declined by 2.4%. The average dental office was hit by a [...]
The Benefits of Cloud-Based Practice Management Software & Tightly Integrated Features
iMedicor discusses how cloud-based computing and integrated features can drastically improve your practice workflow.
Aligning Electronic Health Record Use With Performance Improvement Goals
By Beth E. Michel, MLD, CPHRM; MedPro The concept of performance improvement is discussed frequently among members of the healthcare community. We generally understand that to improve patient outcomes, we must improve [...]
Prescribing as a Key Area for Safety Improvement
By Laura M. Cascella, MA; MedPro Prescribing medication is a complex process, particularly as the number of prescription drugs on the market continues to grow. Research has shown that prescribing errors are common in ambulatory [...]
Streamline Your Patient Receivables Process
Learn how practices like yours are managing patient receivables with fewer headaches and more results. Perks Partner TekCollect will share easy-to-implement steps for minimizing time, costs, write-offs, and maximizing your cash flow for the long [...]
Risk Management Considerations for Contracting With a Dental Service Organization
By Theodore Passineau, JD, HRM, RPLU, CPHRM, FASHRM; MedPro Dental service organizations (DSOs) have been around for some time; however, they recently have become a more common model for the delivery of dental services. Many [...]
Office Design for the New Dental Economy
By Michael Abernathy, DDS, for TDA Perks Supplies The business of dentistry is constantly changing. We see trends driven by consumer demands, OSHA standards, and state-of-the art equipment and services. Often mitigating these changes is [...]
Embezzlement in the Practice
Estimates show that 3 in 5 dental practice owners will be embezzlement victims at some point. Most victims don't know embezzlement is occurring, because they don't have the resources or training to detect it. Best [...]
The SoFi Guide to Refinancing Student Loans
This free 15-page resource book covers what every borrower needs to know about reducing student loan interest rates and conquering student loan debt. Download guide.
Sterilizer Monitoring: How it should be done, and what to do if you get a positive test result
By OSHA Review, Inc. Why monitor your sterilizer? To verify infection control, of course. Regular sterilizer monitoring—when properly implemented—is an important part of an effective infection control program in a dental office. But proper monitoring [...]
The Invisible Numbers that Impact Practice Success
By Gary Kadi for CareCredit Most dentists measure and track key metrics in their practice, including production and collections. But there are three critical numbers that are often “invisible” to the doctor. These invisible numbers create [...]
A Risk Management Review: Infection Prevention and Control in Dental Practices
Over the last several years, an increase in infection outbreaks in ambulatory care has occurred, including in dental practices. Is your practice implementing the precautions necessary to protect your patients and staff? This CE webinar [...]
How to Avoid Common Pitfalls of Dental Construction Projects
Xite Project Management discusses the importance of property due diligence prior to purchasing or leasing space for your office. It also reviews common pitfalls of the construction phase, and how to avoid them.
An Instrument Slips Down a Patient’s Throat: A Case Study. What went wrong? And what should have been done?
Provided by the Medical Protective Company This case study illustrates what could potentially happen if one fails to use all safety measures when performing endodontic treatment. Specifically, it discusses how an instrument slipped down the [...]
HIPAA: How it Impacts Your Practice, to Comply Electronically; and Common Misconceptions
Protecting your patients' protected health information is of utmost importance. Are you HIPAA-compliant? This webinar covers technical safeguards required to comply with federal regulations when transmitting patient health information, common misconceptions, and associated penalties.
How to Protect Computer Equipment in Operatories from Contamination
Provided by OSHA Review, Inc. Items or surfaces likely to become contaminated and that are difficult to clean and disinfect—such as computer equipment—are recommended to be protected to prevent contamination, according to Centers for Disease [...]
Digital Place-Based Advertising, and Benefits of Relaxing Patients
Learn about digital place-based marketing; and how it can increase your revenue. Plus, learn why nature scenes are becoming a focus in dental practices and healthcare settings.
Why You Should Provide Views of Nature at Your Practice
By eScapes Network Even if you don’t have windows overlooking a garden, exposure to nature scenes could have amazing effects on people. Many research and clinical studies have focused on the psychological and physiological health [...]
Common Phobias Surrounding Practice Ownership, and Why You Shouldn’t Let Them Hold You Back
By Christine Villarreal; Xite Healthcare Real Estate If you’re facing the prospect of transitioning from practice associate to owner, dental school to a starting a practice—or somewhere in between, it’s natural to feel apprehensive about [...]
5 Strategies for Stimulating Cash Flow in 2016
By Jeff Arnett, TekCollect As the end of the year approaches, if your practice is like many others, it tends to wind down. Your office closes out the books, ties up loose ends, and looks [...]
Advanced Student Loan Refinancing Techniques
Stumped by your student loans? SoFi will walk you through advanced student loan refinancing techniques. Do you qualify for income based repayments? Is refinancing your best choice? Answers to these questions and more will be [...]
Discover the Benefits of Effective Early Oral/Head-Neck Screening Examination
The high mortality rate associated with oral cancer is caused by late or delayed detection. Technology such as VELscope Vx gives practitioners the ability to detect not only pre-malignant and malignant conditions, but also non-cancer [...]
Dental Insurance Lingo Your Front Desk Team Should Know
By Karen Mouton, Dental Systems, Inc. Most patients need to maximize their dental insurance policy, but understand little about their benefits. Their employee dental handbooks are full of terms the insurance layman wouldn’t understand, and [...]
The Essential Types of Insurance for New Dentists
By Eric Tiedtke, CFP, TDA Financial Services Insurance Program Most of you have had the familiar health, auto, and maybe home insurance for many years. However, if you’re a new dentist just getting out of [...]
Are You Protecting Your Patients from Identity Theft?
By Jennifer L. Nieto, Best Card "The year 2014 will be remembered as the year of shaken trust." Vincent Weafer, senior vice president, McAfee Labs. Most dentists prefer not to think about how they protect [...]
Risks Associated with Cosmetic Procedures
Provided by The Medical Protective Company An audio version of this article is available at the bottom of the page. Risk management analysis of closed claims shows a higher rate of litigation when patients have [...]
Filling Gaps in the Affordable Care Act’s Coverage Using Health Savings Accounts and Supplemental Coverage
By Eric Tiedtke, CFP, TDA Financial Services Insurance Program Anyone that had to get individual health insurance or is in the process of getting coverage via the federal marketplace has figured out that “affordable” and [...]
Ebola Protection for Dental Offices
By Gail E. Thomas, M.D., Ph.D., FACS; Consultant to Smart Training As a surgical oncologist with an abiding interest in tropical medicine, I spent considerable time in Africa overseeing surgical projects for the Atlanta-based Carter [...]
Finding a Location for Your Practice: Essential Considerations
By Patrick Valentz; Principal, Xite Healthcare Real Estate An audio version of this article is available at the bottom of the page. Opening day of a new practice marks the culmination of years of training [...]
Sending Protected Health Information (PHI) via Email? You May be Breaking the Law.
By Robert McDermott, CEO, President; iMedicor Electronic messaging (i.e. E-mail) is quickly becoming the standard for transmitting electronic patient health information (EPHI). But whether they realize it or not, dentists are breaking the law when [...]
Steps to Buying a Practice
Considering opening a new dental office or a second location? Like to know if you can afford to buy commercial real estate and a dental office? This comprehensive webinar presented by Bank of America Practice [...]
Disinfection and Sterilization in Dentistry
By Amy Knepshield Condrin, OSHA Review, Inc. Disinfection and sterilization are essential for preventing transmission of infectious pathogens to patients and your staff. How do you know if you and your staff are effectively performing [...]
Credit-Card Processing Sales Calls: Separating Fact from Fiction
By Jennifer Nieto, Best Card LLC Best Card gets calls from dental offices all day long asking about intimidating credit-card processing related calls, voicemail messages, or faxes they receive. The intimidating calls are likely from [...]
Top 10 Tips for a Successful Practice Start-up
By John Fiore, Bank of America Practice Solutions Let me begin by saying you’ve selected an amazing line of work with a high success rate. In this article, I’ll share my top 10 tips for [...]
Traits of Practices with Highly-Effective Periodontal Protocols
By Rhonda R. Savage, DDS Consultant / Philips Oral Healthcare, makers of Sonicare and ZOOM! Do you place your patients’ best interests first? If you do, you lower your risk of engaging in malpractice and [...]
Informed Refusal: A Review
Provided by The Medical Protective Company Most healthcare providers know that a patient's signature on an informed consent document may not automatically make the consent valid. The same is true of informed refusal. Both of [...]
The Challenges of Compliance: Dentists in the Eye of the Storm
By Jim Moore, CHP; Smart Training LLC 2013 was a watershed year with respect to regulatory requirements for dental practices: The Omnibus Rule stepped HIPAA toward broader enforcement. (The Omnibus Final Rule strengthens and re-affirms [...]
How to Turn Patients into Raving Fans
By Mark E. Hyman, DDS, MAGD An audio version of this article is available at the bottom of the page. One of the biggest fallacies in dentistry is the idea that the only way to [...]
Disability Income Insurance: What’s Your Plan If You Become Too Sick or Injured to Work?
By Eric Tiedtke, CFP, TDA Financial Services Insurance Program No matter where you work, how old you are, or what stage your practice is in, you should have a plan ready in the event that [...]