Senate Bill sb2178c1

    Florida Senate - 2006                           CS for SB 2178

    By the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and Senators
    Atwater, Rich and Lawson




    597-2448-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to dental hygienists; creating

  3         s. 466.0241, F.S.; authorizing a dental

  4         hygienist to complete dental charting in

  5         certain public or private facilities; requiring

  6         a person who receives a dental charting to

  7         acknowledge a written disclosure; providing for

  8         the contents of the written disclosure;

  9         defining the term "dental charting"; requiring

10         the Board of Dentistry to approve the content

11         of the charting and disclosure forms; requiring

12         a medical clearance by a physician or dentist

13         when a certain dental instrument is used;

14         providing that the act does not authorize

15         direct reimbursement by certain insurers for

16         dental charting; requiring referrals to be in

17         conformance with state and federal laws;

18         providing that a dental hygienist who performs

19         dental charting does not create a patient of

20         record; providing an effective date.

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22  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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24         Section 1.  Section 466.0241, Florida Statutes, is

25  created to read:

26         466.0241  Dental charting.--A dental hygienist may,

27  without supervision and within the lawful scope of his or her

28  duties as authorized by law, complete dental charting of hard

29  and soft tissues in public and private educational

30  institutions of the state and federal government, nursing

31  homes, assisted living and long-term care facilities,

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2006                           CS for SB 2178
    597-2448-06




 1  community health centers, and mobile dental or health units.

 2  Dental charting may also be performed on a volunteer basis at

 3  health fairs. Each person, or the parent or legal guardian of

 4  that person, who receives a dental charting pursuant to this

 5  section must receive and acknowledge a written disclosure in

 6  advance of the charting which states that the purpose of the

 7  dental charting is to collect data for use by a dentist at a

 8  prompt subsequent examination. The disclosure form also must

 9  emphasize that diagnosis of caries, soft-tissue disease, oral

10  cancer, temporomandibular joint syndrome, and dento-facial

11  malocclusions can only be completed by a dentist in the

12  context of delivering a comprehensive dental examination. As

13  used in this section, the term "dental charting" means the

14  recording of visual observations of clinical conditions of the

15  oral cavity without the use of X rays, laboratory tests, or

16  other diagnostic methods or equipment, except the instruments

17  necessary to record visual restorations, missing teeth,

18  suspicious areas, and periodontal pockets. The Board of

19  Dentistry shall approve the content of the charting and

20  disclosure forms to be used under this section. Both forms

21  must emphasize the inherent limitations of a dental charting

22  exercise, encourage complete examination by a dentist in

23  rendering a professional diagnosis of the patient's overall

24  oral health needs, and state that dental charting should not

25  be substituted for a comprehensive dental examination. Medical

26  clearance by a physician or dentist is required in those cases

27  when a periodontal probe is used by a dental hygienist when

28  dental charting. This section does not authorize direct

29  reimbursement for dental charting by Medicaid, health

30  insurers, health maintenance organizations, prepaid dental

31  plans, or other third-party payors beyond what is otherwise

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    Florida Senate - 2006                           CS for SB 2178
    597-2448-06




 1  allowed by law. Any referral made in conjunction with

 2  providing dental charting services must comply with federal

 3  and state laws governing patient referral, kickbacks, and

 4  patient brokering. The performance of dental charting without

 5  supervision does not create a patient of record with respect

 6  to the dental hygienist performing the procedure.

 7         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

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 9          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
10                         Senate Bill 2178

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.