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Acknowledgements
In 2004 the American Dental Association Division of Legal Affairs thought that ADA members might find value in a publication that addressed various questions about a wide variety of legal issues that arise in their dental practices. So the lawyers in the Division collaborated on the authorship and publication of Frequently Asked Legal Questions: A Guide for Dentists and the Dental Team. They were pleased to find an extremely positive response. Members demonstrated a real interest in having written materials available to provide insight and background information on such legal issues. Because this interest continued, and because the law continues to evolve, the ADA published a second edition of Frequently Asked Legal Questions in 2010. We now present an updated version, A Dentist’s Guide to the Law: 228 Things Every Dentist Should Know. The ADA Division of Legal Affairs is thankful to the many ADA members who have supported this publication and who have contacted the ADA with questions about laws and regulations affecting dentistry. These members have provided the impetus for this book and the ideas for its content.
We are also grateful for the valuable assistance of Patrick Cannady, Manager, Dental Informatics; John Malone, Manager, Scientific and Technical Information; Pamela Porembski, D.D.S., Director, Council on Dental Practice; Carolyn Tatar, Senior Manager, Product Development and Sales; Kathryn Pulkrabek, Manager/Editor, Professional Products; Steve Gruninger, Assistant Director, Safety and Biocompatibility; Mary Griffin, Legal Coordinator; Denise Zanders, Legal Coordinator; and our legal interns over the years, with particular thanks to Misti Napier-Burton and Angelique Salib.
About the Book
This publication is intended to be a first-step resource and source of information about a number of legal issues that affect practicing dentists. It sets forth a lot of information in what we hope is a convenient and practical form, and addresses a wide array of legal issues of relevance to dentists and their dental teams. The book features updated links to numerous additional resources, and the appendices contain sample contracts, checklists, and other helpful supplementary materials. Note that while any reader will be able to access the vast majority of these linked resources, we have included a few links to resources that can only be accessed by ADA members. To the extent that you wish to use and revise these materials for your own purposes, we strongly encourage you to consult with legal counsel.
This publication contains updated information on many legal topics, such as the various regulations relating to HIPAA, the Sunshine Act, certain legal aspects of technology for health records and communications, recent changes in the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS), various legal aspects of social media, and the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and Self-Referral (Stark) Law. If there are additional topics that we have not covered, but should cover in future editions, please let us know. If you have suggestions or additional questions, please contact us at [email protected].
You should be aware that you always have ADA legal counsel working on your behalf:
• Identifying and addressing legal issues of relevance to the dental profession
• Protecting the interests of the ADA and its members
• Filing litigation and amicus curiae briefs that assert positions that serve dentistry
• Generating informational materials that keep our state associations and individual members advised of timely legal issues
• Working with other divisions to provide input into the scope of government regulations
• Assisting in the development of user-friendly seminars and publications to facilitate your compliance with OSHA, HIPAA, and other laws and regulations that affect dental practice
We hope that you will view this publication as still another way in which we are able to continue to support you and your practice on an ongoing basis.
A Letter From ADA’s General Counsel
We in the ADA Division of Legal Affairs recognize that members of the dental profession, including members of ADA, are continually faced with issues of law that affect their practices, their businesses, and their everyday lives. We also recognize that our members are not specifically trained in the law and that the legal challenges that beset them are often virtually overwhelming. The healthcare professions, including dentistry, are often subject to federal regulation, actions by insurance carriers, legalistic contracts, and even claims that may escalate into litigation. We have received numerous inquiries from our members regarding matters of law that have come to their attention.
While our members may not always fully understand the many legal issues that confront them, we at ADA take great pride in our ability to understand and help members understand and address those issues. We have received questions from many of our members, and we have attempted to answer those questions knowledgeably and effectively. As an additional avenue for providing information to our members, however, we are pleased to provide this publication, which has been specifically designed to delineate and describe, in plain language, a substantial number of the more relevant issues that you may end up facing.
We are hopeful that our publication will be of meaningful assistance to all who take the time to consult it and to seek to better understand the legal issues that they confront. We invite you, as well, to give us your comments about the publication and about other subject matter that might be of help. We view our Division as a resource to the entire ADA organization, and we look forward to continuing to work with all of you.
Best regards,
J. Craig Busey
General Counsel
The American Dental Association
ADA Division of Legal Affairs
211 E. Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611-2678
ada.org [email protected]
Disclaimer
The American Dental Association designed A Dentist’s Guide to the Law: 228 Things Every Dentist Should Know to assist dental practices in understanding certain legal issues. In making these materials available, the ADA does not, nor does it intend to, provide either legal or professional advice. Nothing here represents ADA’s legal or professional advice as to any particular situation you may be facing. To get appropriate legal or professional advice, you need to consult directly with a properly qualified professional or with an attorney admitted to practice in your jurisdiction.
A Dentist’s Guide to the Law generally discusses certain federal and state laws, but does not and cannot address every federal and state law that could affect a dental practice. Each dental practice must be aware of and comply with applicable state and federal laws. A Dentist’s Guide to the Law refers to federal and state statutes and regulations, including regulations adopted by agencies such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), among others. However, the materials that follow have not been approved by HHS, the FTC, or any other federal or state agency. Dental practices vary widely, and each should address legal issues and develop and implement various compliance programs appropriate to its circumstances and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
We have made every effort to make these materials useful and informative. As a consumer of the information, however, you must understand that the law varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and it sometimes changes more rapidly than these materials. For that reason, we make no representations or warranties of any kind about the completeness, accuracy, or any other quality of these materials or any updates, and expressly disclaim all warranties, including without limitation all implied warranties (including any warranty as to merchantability and fitness for a particular use).
To the extent we have