Questions and Answers in Oral Health Education. Chloe Foxhall
about your arrangements for emergency care including the out of hours arrangements.
2.3.10 You should make sure patients have the details they need to allow them to contact you by their preferred method.
2.3.11 You should provide patients with clear information about any referral arrangements related to their treatment.
Standard 2.4 Give patients clear information about costs.
2.4.1 You must make sure that a simple price list is clearly displayed in your reception or waiting area. This should include a list of basic items including a consultation, a single‐surface filling, an extraction, radiographs (bitewing or pan‐oral) and treatment provided by the hygienist. For items which may vary in cost, a ‘from–to’ price range can be shown.
2.4.2 You must give clear information on prices in your practice literature and on your websites – patients should not have to ask for this information.
2.4.3 You should tell your patients whether treatment is guaranteed, under what circumstances and for how long. You should make clear any circumstances under which treatment is not guaranteed (for example, a lack of care on their part which leads to recurring problems).
Principle 3 – Obtain Valid Consent
Patient expectation:
To be asked for their consent to treatment before it starts.
Standard 3.1 Obtain valid consent before starting treatment, explaining all the relevant options and the possible costs.
3.1.1 You must make sure you have valid consent before starting any treatment or investigation. This applies whether you are the first member of your team to see the patient or whether you are involved after other team members have already seen them. Do not assume that someone else has obtained the patient's consent.
3.1.2 You should document the discussions you have with patients in the process of gaining consent. Although a signature on a form is important in verifying that a patient has given consent, it is the discussions that take place with the patient that determine whether the consent is valid.
3.1.3 You should find out what your patients want to know as well as what you think they need to know. Things that patients might want to know include:
options for treatment, the risks, and the potential benefits;
why you think a particular treatment is necessary and appropriate for them;
the consequences, risks, and benefits of the treatment you propose;
the likely prognosis;
your recommended option;
the cost of the proposed treatment;
what might happen if the proposed treatment is not carried out; and
whether the treatment is guaranteed, how long it is guaranteed for and any exclusions that apply.
3.1.4 You must check and document that patients have understood the information you have given.
3.1.5 Patients can withdraw their consent at any time, refuse treatment, or ask for it to be stopped after it has started. You must acknowledge their right to do this and follow their wishes. You should explain the consequences or risks of not continuing the treatment and ensure that the patient knows that they are responsible for any future problems which arise as a result of not completing the treatment. You must record all this in the patient's notes.
3.1.6 You must obtain written consent where treatment involves conscious sedation or general anaesthetic.
Standard 3.2 Make sure that patients (or their representatives) understand the decisions they are being asked to make.
3.2.1 You must provide patients with sufficient information and give them a reasonable amount of time to consider that information in order to make a decision.
3.2.2 You must tailor the way you obtain consent to each patient's needs. You should help them to make informed decisions about their care by giving them information in a format they can easily understand.
3.2.3 When obtaining consent, you should encourage patients who have communication difficulties to have a friend, relative, or carer with them to help them ask questions or understand your answers.
3.2.4 You must always consider whether patients are able to make decisions about their care themselves, and avoid making assumptions about a patient's ability to give consent.
3.2.5 You must check and document that patients have understood the information you have given them.
Standard 3.3 Make sure that the patient’s consent remains valid at each stage of investigation or treatment.
3.3.1 Giving and obtaining consent is a process, not a one‐off event. It should be part of ongoing communication between patients and all members of the dental team involved in their care. You should keep patients informed about the progress of their care.
3.3.2 When carrying out an ongoing course of treatment, you must make sure you have specific consent for what you are going to do during that appointment.
3.3.3 You must tailor the way you confirm ongoing consent to each patient's needs and check that patients have understood the information you have given them.
3.3.4 You must document the discussions you have with patients in the process of confirming their ongoing consent.
3.3.5 If you think that you need to change a patient's agreed treatment or the estimated cost, you must obtain your patient's consent to the changes and document that you have done so.
Principle 4 – Maintain and Protect Patients' Information
Patient expectation:
Their records to be up to date, complete, clear, accurate, and legible.
Their personal details to be kept confidential.
To be able to access their dental records.
Their records to be stored securely.
Standard 4.1 Make and keep contemporaneous, complete and accurate patient records.
4.1.1 You must make and keep complete and accurate patient records, including an up‐to‐date medical history, each time that you treat patients. Radiographs, consent forms, photographs, models, audio or visual recordings of consultations, laboratory prescriptions, statements of conformity, and referral letters all form part of patients' records where they are available.
4.1.2 You should record as much detail as possible about the discussions you have with your patients, including evidence that valid consent has been obtained. You should also include details of any particular patient's treatment needs where appropriate.
4.1.3 You must understand and meet your responsibilities in relation to patient information in line with current legislation. You must follow appropriate national advice on retaining, storing, and disposing of patient records.
4.1.4 You must ensure that all documentation that records your work, including patient records, is clear, legible, accurate, and can be readily understood by others. You must also record the name or initials of the treating clinician.
4.1.5 If you need to make any amendments to a patient's records, you must make sure that the changes are clearly marked up and dated.
4.1.6 If you refer a patient to another dental professional or other health professional, you must make an accurate record of this referral in the patient's notes and include a written prescription