Legal and Ethical Responsibilities

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  Define the key words.  Discuss the federal and state regulations concerning the use of dental x-ray equipment.  Describe licensure requirements for exposing dental radiographs.

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  Identify specific risk management strategies for radiography.  Recognize negative remarks about radiographic equipment that should be avoided.  List the five aspects of informed consent.

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  List the radiographic items that must be documented in the patient’s record.  Explain what should be said to patients who refuse radiographs.  Identify the role professional ethics play in guiding the radiographer’s behavior.

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  Legal and ethical issues directly relate to radiation safety.  The dental radiographer must understand and respect the law governing the use of ionizing radiation.  The radiographer should be aware of the dental professions’ codes of ethics that guide decisions regarding the use of ionizing radiation.

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  Equipment regulations  Federal Performance Act of x-ray equip meet federal performance standards  Licensure requirements  Consumer-Patient Radiation Health and Safety Act – Protect patients from unnecessary radiation

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  Risk management  Patient relations  Informed consent

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson Figure 11-1 Radiographer wearing a radiation monitoring badge.

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  To make a decision regarding informed consent, the patient must be informed of the following:  The purpose of taking radiographs  The benefits the radiographs will supply  The possible risks of radiation exposure  The possible risks of refusing the radiographs  The person who will perform the procedure

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  Liability  Patient records  Documentation  Confidentiality  Ownership  Retention  Insurance claims

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  Documentation:  The patient’s informed consent  The number and type of radiographs, including retakes  The date the radiographs are taken and the name of the radiographer who took them  The reason for taking the radiographs  The interpretive and diagnostic results

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  Malpractice issues  Negligence/Statute of Limitations  Patients who refuse radiographs

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  Ethics is defined as a sense of moral obligation regarding right and wrong behavior.  Professional ethics define a standard to which all members of the profession are obligated to conform. These professional rules of conduct are called a profession’s Code of Ethics.

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  Achieve perfection with each radiograph.  Perform confidently and with authority.  Take pride in services rendered and professional advancement.

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  Keep radiation exposure as low as possible  Avoid retakes  Develop integrity, dedication, and competence

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  The dental radiographer should be aware of the laws and regulations pertaining to dental radiography.  Both federal and state regulations control the manufacture and use of x-ray equipment.  State laws require that operators of x-ray equipment be trained and certified or licensed to take dental radiographs.

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  Risk management strategies and good patient relations reduce the risk of possible legal actions.  The patient’s records, including the radiographs, are confidential.  The professional’s code of ethics guides the behavior of the dental radiographer.

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  General  Chapter Review

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  Consider the following scenario.  You have been working in a practice for over a year and have developed a friendship with another dental assistant. You often socialize together outside of work, and your children play together.

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  One evening during dinner, your dental assistant friend tells you that even though she has been exposing dental radiographs on patients since she was hired by the practice over two years ago, she does not have the state-required radiation safety certification.

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  She tells you that the dentist never asked to see her certificate during the job interview. She wasn’t planning to “break the law” but the first day on the job, the dentist explained to a patient that she would be taking the full mouth series, and “not to worry, because she was a competent clinician.”

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  Your friend explains to you that it would have been embarrassing to tell the dentist at that point that she was not certified, so she exposed the films. After that, she thought about taking a course to prepare for the state examination, but didn’t want to get “caught” taking the exam after she had already been placing and exposing radiographs all this time. She hopes you will keep her confidence, since you are friends.

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  Reflect on this scenario and answer the following questions. 1. How has your friend broken the law? 2. How has this behavior endangered the patient? Your friend? Your employer? 3. Describe the legal and/or ethical situation she faces. 4. Describe the legal and/or ethical dilemma you face.

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  Reflect on this scenario and answer the following questions. 5. How could your employer have prevented this situation? 6. What aspects of the Dental or Dental Assisting Code of Ethics apply to this situation? 7. Take the role of your friend; what would you have done if you were she?

Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Essentials of Dental Radiography for Dental Assistants and Hygienists, Ninth Edition Evelyn M. Thomson Orlen N. Johnson  Proceed to Chapter 11, Laboratory Application, to complete this activity.