View this email .
American Dental Education Association

Volume 2, No. 20, July 27, 2021

ADEA Advocacy in Action

This appears weekly in the ADEA Advocate to summarize and provide direct links to recent advocacy actions taken by ADEA. Please let us know what you think and how we might improve its usefulness.

 

Issues and Resources

  • Provider Relief Fund Reporting
  • ADEA regarding vaccines at the state level
  • ADEA on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on U.S. Dental Schools
  • ADEA policy regarding overprescription of antibiotics
  • For a full list of ADEA memos, briefs and letters click .
HHS Announces $103M in Grants to Strengthen Resiliency and Address Burnout in Health Care Workforce

 

The Department of Health and Human Services $103 million in funding for health care workforce grants. The funding would be over a three-year period, and rural and underserved communities will be given distinct consideration in the application process.

 

The three grant programs that organizations can apply to are , and . Applications for these grant programs are due Aug. 31.

 

These grants are part of the Biden administration’s efforts to address the crisis in health care worker mental health issues, including burnout and resiliency, caused by the advent of COVID-19.

Department of Education Releases New Title IX Guidance

 

The Department of Education (ED) released guidance regarding current Title IX regulations, the . It will serve as interim guidance explaining how the Biden administration will interpret the current Title IX regulations passed during the Trump administration. The guidance is a stop-gap measure intended to assist schools as ED begins the process of reviewing and amending the current Title IX regulations while they continue to implement them.

 

The guidance is helpful in that it answers questions that many schools have encountered as they try to comply with current regulations, such as “Can colleges still investigate incidents that don’t fall under the regulations’ narrow definition of sexual harassment?” and “Should colleges investigate some incidents that happen off campus?”

 

This guidance released last week is likely to remain in effect until at least the middle of 2022, at which point ED should be ready to amend the current Title IX regulations.
Oregon Governor Signs Dental Therapy Bill

 

On July 19, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) that authorizes dental therapists to practice statewide. The state already allows dental therapists to train to practice in , and authorizes at Pacific University. Under the new law, dental therapists will be required to practice under a collaborative agreement with a licensed dentist. In addition to outlining the scope of practice and elements required to be included in collaborative agreements, the bill also requires dental therapists to practice in dental health professional shortage areas or dedicate at least 51% of their practice to patients who represent underserved populations.

North Carolina Legislature Sends to Governor a Teledentistry, Dental Hygienists’ Scope of Practice and Licensure Reciprocity Bill

 

On July 23, the North Carolina General Assembly to Gov. Roy Cooper (D) that would create a new section of code to regulate the practice of teledentistry, alter the scope of practice for some dental hygienists and increase licensure reciprocity for some dentists. Under the bill, the following changes will be made:

  • Teledentistry
    • A licensed dentist or a licensed dental hygienist who is under the supervision of a licensed dentist would be permitted to provide teledentistry services.
    • The transmission of data is authorized by dentists, dental hygienists, patients and authorized persons that include electronic images and related information as appropriate to provide teledentistry services.
    • When a service is between patient and provider, the location of the patient is the originating site, and the location of the provider is the distant site.
    • When a service is between providers and conducted for the purposes of consultation, the location of the provider initiating the consultation is the originating site and the location of the consulting provider is the distant site.
    • Appropriate steps must be taken to establish the licensee-patient relationship.
    • Informed consent must be obtained from patients, and specified guidelines for obtaining that consent must be followed.
    • The North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners is permitted to take disciplinary action against licensees who allow fee-splitting in the provision of teledentistry services or who limit a patient’s ability to file a grievance with any appropriate oversight body.
  • Dental Hygienist Scope of Practice
    • Dental hygienists who meet specified training and licensure requirements would be permitted to administer local anesthetics.
    • All programs that train dental hygienists to administer local anesthetics must include at least 16 classroom hours and 14 clinical hours. The faculty-to-student ratio must be no greater than 1 to 5, and students must receive a score of at least 80% in order to successfully complete the course.
    • Dental hygienists who meet specified experience, training and supervision requirements are permitted to provide dental hygiene services to a patient under the written order of a dentist, rather than after an in-person evaluation of the patient by a licensed dentist. Dental hygienists who meet the requirements are also permitted to supervise a dental assistant classified as “Dental Assistant II”.
    • Schools and federally qualified health centers would be added to the list of locations where dental hygiene services could be provided under a written order.
  • Licensure Reciprocity
    • The dental board would be required to issue a license by credentials to anyone who currently holds an instructor’s license.
    • The dental board would also be required to issue a license by credentials to anyone who has graduated with a general dental degree from a school or college and has graduated from an advanced dental education program with either a certificate or a degree from a school or college accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation and is approved by the dental board. Anyone who meets this requirement must also comply with current requirements for licensure by credentials.
  • Miscellaneous
    • Finally, the East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine would be added to the NC Caring Dental Professionals Board.

The is published weekly. Its purpose is to keep ADEA members abreast of federal and state issues and events of interest to the academic dentistry and the dental and research communities.

 

©2021

American Dental Education Association

655 K Street, NW, Suite 800

Washington, DC 20001

202-289-7201,

twitter
Unsubscribe

B. Timothy Leeth, CPA

ADEA Chief Advocacy Officer

 

Bridgette DeHart, J.D.

ADEA Director of Federal Relations and Advocacy

 

Phillip Mauller, M.P.S.

ADEA Director of State Relations and Advocacy

 

Brian Robinson

ADEA Program Manager for Advocacy and Government Relations

 

Higher Logic