A Dentist’s Guide to the Law. American Dental Association

A Dentist’s Guide to the Law

OK for Me to Stay on Cash Basis Accounting or Must I Use Accrual Basis Accounting?

164. Can I Claim the Americans With Disabilities Act Tax Credit for Purchases of Intraoral Cameras, Panorex Machines, New Chairs, Etc.?

165. What Are My Requirements Regarding Payroll Taxes?

Chapter 23: Insuring Your Practice

166. What Type of Professional Liability Insurance Should I Have?

167. What About Liability Other Than Malpractice?

168. Can I Insure Against Damage to My Practice?

169. What Insurance Helps Protect My Income?

170. What Other Insurance Issues Are Important?

Payment, Collection, and Reimbursement

Chapter 24: Payment and Collections

171. Which NPI Do I Use to Submit a Claim? I Have a Type 1 NPI for Myself and a Type NPI for My Corporation/Group/Partnership.

172. A Patient Refused to Pay for What His Insurance Refused to Cover. What Can I Do?

173. How Can I Better Position My Practice to Minimize the Need to Send Non-paying Patients to Collection and Improve My Practice’s Chance of Prevailing in Collection Matters?

174. A Patient Is Refusing to Give Our Dental Office His or Her Social Security Number (SSN). Can I Refuse to Treat the Patient? Why Would a Patient Be Reluctant to Provide This Information? Can Collecting Social Security Numbers Pose a Legal Risk for a Dental Practice?

175. Who Pays When Parents Are Divorced?

176. Can I Check My Patient’s Credit History Before Agreeing to Provide Care?

177. What Are the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS)?

178. If the Patient Doesn’t Accept My Work or Refuses to Come Back to Let Me Finish It, and I’ve Already Collected Insurance for It, Do I Have a Problem?

179. Are There Legal Problems Giving Discounts to Family, Staff, or Colleagues?

180. Can I Extend Dental Coverage Through My Office to Patients Who Do Not Have It by Establishing My Practice’s Own In-Office Dental Plan?

181. Are There Legal Problems in Offering and Awarding Social Coupons to New or Existing Patients?

182. If a Patient Is Behind on Payments, Can I Withhold Records or Stop Treatment?

183. Am I Required to Continue Treatment If the Patient Is in Bankruptcy?

184. Can I Charge Interest on Overdue Amounts? What About Collection Costs?

185. When Should I Use a Collection Agency?

186. Are There Limits to What Can Be Done in Collections?

187. How Does Small Claims Court Work? Is It Worth It?

188. What Should I Do If the Patient Wants a Refund, or a Nominal Sum for Malpractice?

Chapter 25: Insurers and Other Commercial Payers

189. The Plan’s Explanation of Benefits Makes It Seem Like I’m Overcharging. Is That Legal?

190. I Submitted a Claim to an Insurance Company Six Months Ago, and I Still Haven’t Received My Reimbursement. What Can I Do?

191. An Insurance Company Is Withholding Payment for Part of the Claims I Submitted to Them Recently. They Say They’re “Offsetting” an Amount They Overpaid Me Previously. Can They Do This?

192. Dental Benefit Plan XYZ Claims I’m a Participating Provider in Their Plan, and That I Have to Treat All of Their Enrollees Who Come to My Office, and Accept Their Fees as Full Reimbursement. How Can This Be? I Never Signed a Contract With Plan XYZ.

193. Can an Insurance Plan Force Me to Allow It to Audit Out-of-Network Charts, or Does HIPAA Prevent This?

The Patient

Chapter 26: The Dentist-Patient Relationship

194. What Rights Does a Patient Have to Privacy and Confidentiality?

195. What Should I Do to Protect Patient Information?

196. My Patient Is in a Lawsuit. Do I Have to Testify? Doesn’t the Dentist-Patient Privilege Help Me Avoid This?

197. What If I See Signs of Abuse or Neglect Upon Examination?

Chapter 27: Diagnosis and Treatment

198. Are There Specific Legal Concerns to Watch for When Taking a Health History?

199. How Often Should Patients Be Asked to Update Their Health History Forms?

200. Are There Legal Issues Regarding Treatment Planning?

201. Who Must Give Informed Consent?

202. So How Do I Go About Getting Informed Consent?

203.

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