Attention Texas Dental Patients

Posted on December 24, 2020 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Attention Texas Dental Patients

[You should read this]

Darrell K. Pruitt DDS
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At a uniquely critical time in history, as dentists strive to keep their patients out of emergency rooms, pharmacists here in Fort Worth are telling dentists that the Texas State Board of Pharmacy has outlawed paper prescriptions – even for antibiotics.
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According to three local pharmacists, on January 1, 2021 many dentists – including myself – will no longer be allowed to prescribe medications without digital records, no matter the urgency. As a dentist, I neither need nor want digital records, and as a patient, you shouldn’t either. Let me show you third-party nonsense which does NOTHING to improve patient care.
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According to Protenus Breach Barometer, between April and June of 2017, 142 healthcare data breaches were reported, impacting 3.14 million records. 23 of the incidents involved paper, affecting 158,711 records. 158,711 divided by 3,140,000 = 5%.
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This means that if your dentist put your identifying information on a computer, you had a 95% greater chance of medical identity theft than if your paper records were stored in a metal filing cabinet. In the last three years, the breaches have only worsened, cyber-crime is growing stronger every day, and most importantly, there are no solutions on the horizon. I ask you, why should any healthcare provider be forced by the state to knowingly risk Texans’ welfare?
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Electronic dental records – both cloud-based and premises-based – are not only increasingly more expensive and increasingly more dangerous than paper for both dentists and patients, but they offer patients NO TANGIBLE BENEFITS over paper.
Just ask anyone.
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But there’s more. Electronic dental records (which do nothing to improve care) also require far more training and specialized expertise than the working knowledge of alphabetical order required for filing charts in their correct place. Dental EHRs are first and foremost billing tools which not only shift the high cost of data entry from insurers back to dentists (read “patients”), but enable the really clever CEOs to control treatment decisions by employing strategic complexities for payment. All that digital offers dentists is convenience – expensive, dangerous convenience.
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If Texans knew the truth, many would naturally prefer paper dental records. The business of dentistry is simply not so complicated that it requires computerization. After all, a dentist bills for treatments involving only the lower 1/3 of the face, and because dentistry involves intricate handwork, dentists can only safely treat a dozen or so patients a day – compared to 40 or more for physicians.
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Very large, successful dental practices have thrived without computers for decades, while their patients enjoy the gold standard of security: Loud, heavy and cumbersome sheet metal filing cabinets.
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Assessment
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Let’s face it. Electronic dental records will never protect patients from identity theft as well as paper. CVS, Walgreens and Albertson’s as examples, simply don’t care.  Surprised?
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THANK YOU

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Is there a Migration of Patients to Paper-Based Dentists?

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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Paper Medical Records Become Popular Again?

[By Kellus Pruitt DDS]

1-darrellpruitt

Starting long ago, I warned that as more dental patients are notified of data breaches – some more than once – we are likely to witness an event mandate stakeholders said would never happen: A migration of patients to paper-based dentists.

Now, because of the rapidly escalating costs and liabilities, defiant, slow adopters of electronic dental records [EDRs] can not only expect to provide dental care at a lower cost than “paperless practices,” but patients are on course to learn that some dentists do not put their patients at risk of medical identity theft by putting identities on computers.

Just sit back and watch!

The Ponemon Institute

In February, the Ponemon Institute published  their “Fifth Annual Study on Medical Identity Theft.”

 “Consumers expect healthcare providers to be proactive in preventing and detecting medical identity theft. Although many respondents are not confident in the security practices of their healthcare provider, 79 percent of respondents say it is important for healthcare providers to ensure the privacy of their health records. Forty-eight percent say they would consider changing healthcare providers if their medical records were lost or stolen. If such a breach occurred, 40 percent say prompt notification by the organization responsible for safeguarding this information is important.”

The Paper-Gold Standard? 

So if your patients start asking you not to put their identities – including medical records – on your computers, what will you do, Doc?

Since encryption is a non-starter in dentistry for solid, business reasons, and will make paperless practices even less competitive with paper-based, would you consider employing staff which knows how to use pegboard, ledger cards and lots of carbon paper (The gold standard of security)?

Or, would you prefer not to give up computerization, yet keep your patients safe?

*** paper

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More:

Assessment

De-identification of primary electronic dental records is sounding better all the time. Am I right? If patients’ identities are not available, they cannot be hacked.

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Are Dentists Satisfied with their EDRs?

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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Major Discontent With EHR Adoption

[By D. Kellus Pruitt DDS]

1-darrellpruittUnlike physicians, dentists never complain. That means they are probably 100% satisfied with their electronic dental records.

What do you think, Doc?

MarketWatch 

Recently, the Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch posted a press release titled, “Physicians Cite Major Discontent With Adoption And Use of Electronic Health Record Systems, Despite Government’s $27 Billion Incentive Program”

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/physicians-cite-major-discontent-with-adoption-and-use-of-electronic-health-record-systems-despite-governments-27-billion-incentive-program-2014-02-07

“CLEVELAND, Feb. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — The $27 billion government experiment to incentivize physicians to convert to electronic health records (EHRs) has not been worth it, according to nearly 70% of physicians surveyed.

Medical Economics 

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In fact, a national [Medical Economics] survey of nearly 1,000 physicians, set for release on February 10, 2014, shows widespread dissatisfaction related to the functionality and cost of these patient record systems. About 45% of physicians believe patient care is actually worse as a result of adopting EHR technology, two-thirds would not purchase their current EHR system again, and 43% of physicians say these systems have resulted in significant financial losses.

In addition, the current state of technology has not improved the coordination of care with hospitals, physicians say.”

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It is probably better for HHS that very few dentists were able to participate in the ARRA stimulus giveaway. Otherwise, tax-paying citizens might have learned about the wastefulness of Meaningful Use requirements for dentists – which nobody has the guts to reveal. That pretty much rules out brilliant Meaningful Use ideas.

Those who might patriotically defend the benefits of the tasks would do so, if they were idiots.

So how do dentists feel about their electronic dental records? It’s hard to tell. Over 96% of them are HIPAA-covered entities, making them vulnerable to audits, which can be “random” now. As one can imagine, very few dentists openly discuss EDRs. Do you think the silence is more likely to improve or harm patient care?

doc

Even though thousands of physicians have participated in dozens of national surveys like Medical Economics’ over the last few years, as far as I know, not one survey of dentists’ opinions has ever been published. Perhaps someone can prove me wrong. I doubt it.

The Survey

The results from the Medical Economics survey include:

  • 67% say that system functionality influences their decisions to purchase or switch systems.
  • 48% say that cost is influencing their decisions to purchase or switch systems.
  • Nearly half of physicians say that implementation of EHR systems has made the quality of patient care worse.
  • 69% of respondents say that coordination of care with hospitals has not improved.
  • 45% say they have spent more than $100,000 on an EHR
  • 77% of the largest practices (more than 10 physicians) spent more than $200,000 on an EHR.
  • 38% doubt their systems will still be viable in 5 years.

Assessment

Not long ago, Wisconsin became the first state to outlaw paper dental records, which are both cheaper and safer than digital.

So, is it still too soon for dentists and patients demand more transparency in dentistry? When costs and danger are hidden in dental care, it is always the last in line who suffer the most – clueless, trusting dental patients.

Am I right, Doc?

More:

  1. Sales of Dental Equipment and eDRs Down
  2. Military Electronic Dental Records [eDRs]
  3. Dr. Pruitt Invites Dr. Cohen to Discuss eDRs
  4. Cyber Insurance for Dentists

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