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About My Tell-All Book?

By D. Kellus Pruitt DDS

One day, I’m going to write a tell-all book about quality control dentistry …  But, for all I’ve been told, it might be fiction.

The Quality Mandate 

Here’s something I find entertaining about the “quality” reporting mandate that was quietly written into HIPAA about the time President Clinton amended the 1966 Freedom of Information Act – making doctors’ records no longer proprietary business information. The 1996 HIPAA Rule is modular, and around every corner, we’ve learned there is an exploding surprise that was slipped into a thick bill long ago. The bolus technique of passing difficult legislation is not unlike the way the 2000 page healthcare reform bill was handled. It gets crap through the system too quick to be read, understood and debated by principals in healthcare who aren’t paying attention anyway. It’s a rule-making policy that simply favors stakeholders rather than doctors and patients. Depending on the campaign contributions, silliness can catch fire like a Madoff investment.

Dental Quality Compliance 

I don’t know about physicians, but dentists have never been warned about the quality control part of compliance. Now that it’s an integral part of healthcare reform’s imaginary funding, it’s a sure bet that no ADA official is willing to discuss the egregious blunder even anonymously.

ADA Department of Informatics

Soon enough, ADA members will learn about the clandestine quality control efforts of the ADA Department of Informatics – the brainchild of former ADA Sr. Vice President Dr. John Luther, who I hear is no longer part of the organization. Although I’m a persistent, nosey outsider peeking into a secretive not-for-profit organization (?), from what I can tell, the ADA’s interest in quality control began about 6 years ago following a visit to the ADA Headquarters by Newt Gingrich – which evidently favored the ADA Department of Dental Informatics with federal funding to replace dependence on finicky members’ dues. Had ADA members who were busy treating dental patients actually known the directions the ADA took the ADA’s mission statement for easy money, Dr. Luther’s career with the organization would have been even shorter.

Anonymous ADA Leaders 

Knowing that anonymous ADA leaders’ blunders no longer stay hidden forever, don’t you find the shyness of today’s dental leaders amusing? Don’t you just know the trusting early-adopters of interoperable eDRs will be pissed off when they discover that long ago, the ADA could have warned them about ambitious stakeholders’ plans for the profession?

Assessment

Who’s going to break the sweet news to dues-paying members before CMS, insurers, and quality control consultants (today’s dental insurance consultants), are granted a back door to HIPAA-compliant dentists’ interoperable computers allowing access for real-time quality control authorities, as well as fraud, HIPAA, FTC and other inspectors working on commission? It’s a dark tale.

Conclusion

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Our Other Print Books and Related Information Sources:

Health Dictionary Series: http://www.springerpub.com/Search/marcinko

Practice Management: http://www.springerpub.com/product/9780826105752

Physician Financial Planning: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/0763745790

Medical Risk Management: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/9780763733421

Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Physician Advisors: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

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Filed under: Information Technology, Practice Management, Pruitt's Platform, Quality Initiatives | Tagged: ADA, ADA Department of Informatics, Darrell Pruitt, Dr. John Luther, eDRs, HIPAA | 8 Comments »