Toni Adams is a member of the Sac Valley component and is an Award winning speaker, writer, mentor, scholar, leader, tutor. She just found out her CE was approved! topics include intercultural communication, nonverbal communication, listening, health literacy, working with limited English proficient people, working with interpreters, and improving communication competence. She will be presenting her course for Sac Valley soon.

Our own Carol Lee who is past president of CDHA, state web site founder (and more), was the keynote speaker for the graduating class at Sacramento City College Dental Hygiene class of 2010. Congrats Carol!

Connecticut Legislature Moves on ADHP Program On March 23, the Joint Human Services Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly passed a bill that would create a "pilot" Advanced Dental Hygiene Practitioner (ADHP) program in that state. If passed by the Public Health Committee, which has joint jurisdiction, the measure would then head to the House floor.

Health Care Reform Law Could Improve Children's Oral Health, states Delta Dental Plans Association. To view the complete text of this, click here.
Newly-signed legislation will open doors to more dental care

Dallas TX- Concorde Career Colleges is looking for a Dental Hygiene Program Director for their new program in Dallas. We are seeing some changes in the way offices compensate their hygienists:

-11% of offices have reduced the number of dental hygienists they employ
-5% have cut compensation.
-hygienists are being paid hourly, rather then salary
-hygienists are being asked to “clock out” when there are no patients
-Instead of any raises, hygienists are on a bonus system based on achieving a minimum daily production."

Lets not forget that salaries are driven by supply and demand….this is true for all professions!

The FDA is in its final review of a product by Orapharma that was developed to buffer anesthetic we already use to exact physiological pH. It buffers the anesthetic. No extra injection. No change in technique. It provides immediate onset, no bee sting and less post treatment tissue morbidity. It expects to make the Onset™ Solution available this summer. more info.

Mandatory Paperless Offices?
 
All health records need to be computerized by 2015

Scheduled for completion in 2015, the National Health Information Infrastructure (NHII) will be a communications system comparable to a network of highways, roads and pathways on which all health information will travel. Its purpose is to enable patients' electronic health records to be accessed and added to by all health care providers electronically (with patient authorization), virtually anywhere in the country, via the network. The electronic health record will include health information entered for a specific patient at a specific point of service. It will travel and be accessible on the NHII.
 
Falling under the purview of the Department of Health and Human Services, HHS defines it as "an initiative set forth to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and overall quality of health and health care in the U.S."

This site has helpful information:

http://www.artofpracticemanagement.com/products.htm.
 
Learning the medical side will also assist any office to learn how it works when you have to use both procedures codes and diagnostic codes. By 2015, all health records must be computerized.
 
Another helpul article: http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/topics/nhii.asp.

All You Ever Wanted to Know About Blood Pressure

The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure.

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/hypertension/index.htm