Practice Resources

Several dentists in Texas have received letters from attorneys alleging their websites violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (AwDA) because the websites are not accessible to individuals with disabilities such as blindness or hearing impairment. Such letters typically request the payment of some amount of money in order to avoid a lawsuit, and may also insist on prompt compliance with the law.

Such claims appear to be on the increase. If you have a website you may similarly be at risk.1 While the task of putting your website into full compliance may require some time and expense, there are certain steps that can be taken in the short term.

1. Here are some things you can do now to decrease the risk of a claim:

a) Add an “Accessibility Link.” Add a link (similar to the website’s privacy policy) that links to a page that tells individuals with disabilities what to do if they can’t access something on your website (see sample in Attachment 1). Train your staff to respond effectively to requests for assistance (e.g., reading web content over the phone, providing a transcript of video content, helping people fill out forms).

b) Talk to Website Designer. Ask your website designer if the website is accessible as designed and implemented (for example, your designer may be able to assure you that it complies with a set of standards known as “WCAG 2.0 Levels A and AA”2). In addition, ask what must be done to make accessible the content you add yourself (if you’re unsure, take down added content temporarily).

c) Take Down, Evaluate, and/or Replace Website. If the website is not accessible, or if the designer doesn’t know whether or how to make it accessible, you may wish to:

• Temporarily take down the website; and/or
• Have the website evaluated by a qualified consultant; and/or
• Replace it, at least temporarily, with a very simple website that is less likely to have accessibility barriers; and/or
•Work with a qualified website designer to create a new, accessible website that has all of the features your practice wants to have (it’s often more cost effective to just start from scratch).

d) Adapt your Contracts. Make sure any contract for a new website requires the website developer to provide a website that is compliant with accessibility standards such as “WCAG 2.0 Levels A and AA.”3

2. What to do if you get a demand letter or are served with a lawsuit

a)   If you get a letter about the accessibility of your website, make sure you understand what the writer is asking for. If it’s simply a request for access, have your staff respond as indicated above (see 1(a)).  If it’s a demand for payment of some amount, or for some action, do not disregard it or fail to treat it seriously. It may contain specific deadlines that you should not ignore."

b)   Ignoring a demand letter or a lawsuit can create substantial risks, but you need to act judiciously in deciding what to do. Before responding, take proactive steps such as those outlined in Section 1, and talk to an attorney4 knowledgeable about Title III of the AwDA. Being diligent at the outset can help limit your potential exposure. You and your attorney may find helpful the attached" "“Website Accessibility: Strategies for Dentists,” which offers more detailed legal discussion."

Reproduction of this material by ADA member dentists, ADA constituent and component dental societies, and their staff and legal counsel is permitted for internal use only. Any other use or duplication or distribution by any other party requires the prior written approval of the American Dental Association. This material is for general reference purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It covers only the Americans with Disabilities Act (AwDA), not other federal or state law. Changes in applicable laws or regulations may require revision. Dentists should contact qualified legal counsel for legal advice, including advice pertaining to AwDA compliance.

© 2017 American Dental Association. All Rights Reserved.

_______________________________________________________
_{1 The American Dental Association has developed the attached white paper, “Website Accessibility: Strategies for Dentists” which provides information that you may find helpful and may wish to share with your attorney.}

_{2 See http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/.}

_{3 Sample Clause: Accessibility. Designer represents and warrants that all deliverables will be in conformity with all applicable regulatory requirements, including but not limited to conformance with applicable provisions of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines}

_{(WCAG) 2.0 Levels A and AA.}

Sample Accessibility Statement

We are continuously working to improve the accessibility of content on our website. Below, you’ll find a few recommendations to help make your browsing experience more accessible:

If you have trouble seeing web pages, the US Social Security Administration offers these tips for optimizing your computer and browser to improve your online experience.

• Use your computer to read web pages out loud
• Use the keyboard to navigate screens
• Increase text size
• Magnify your screen
• Change background and text colors
• Make your mouse pointer more visible (Windows only)

If you are looking for mouse and keyboard alternatives, speech recognition software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking may help you navigate web pages and online services. This software allows the user to move focus around a web page or application screen through voice controls.

If you are deaf or hard of hearing, there are several accessibility features available to you.

Closed Captioning

Closed captioning provides a transcript for the audio track of a video presentation that is synchronized with the video and audio tracks. Captions are generally visually displayed over the video, which benefits people who are deaf and hard of hearing, and anyone who cannot hear the audio due to noisy environments. Most of our video content includes captions. Learn how to turn captioning on and off in YouTube.

Volume Controls

Your computer, tablet, or mobile device has volume control features. Each video and audio service has its own additional volume controls. Try adjusting both your device’s volume controls and your media players’ volume controls to optimize your listening experience.

If the recommendations above do not meet your needs, we invite you to contact us at [insert your phone umber, including TTY if available] for assist

 

 

 

By: Cathy Jameson, PhD and founder of Jameson Management

It’s something dental teams hear patients say almost every day. But the question is, what do patients really mean when they say, “I’ll think about it?” And, how can dental teams best respond? According to Patients’ Decision Path to Purchase Dental Care Study*, even though patients believe dentistry is an absolute necessity, they take an average of 69.8 days to decide to move forward with care when there’s an out-of-pocket investment required. Often, when patients leave the practice without committing to needed dentistry, it’s because there is an unspoken barrier to care. 

Click HERE to continue reading (pdf download)

By: Robert McDermott

Electronic messaging is quickly becoming the standard for transmitting electronic patient health information (EPHI). But in a digital era when technology is ever-evolving, are you and your staff doing everything you can to legally comply with Health Information Portability and Accounting Act (HIPAA) laws? If you’re not, you’re jeopardizing not only your patients’ privacy but also your practice and your license.

How Steep Are the Penalties?
With the advent of electronic health records, protecting EPHI from internal and external risks has never been a bigger issue in the dental community. The federal government is increasingly tightening its enforcement of HIPAA laws.[1] Not complying with these laws means your patients’ EPHI could end up in the wrong hands. The penalties for such violations are staggering — one incident could put a practice out of business. Violations carry monetary fines ranging from up to $50,000 per page to a maximum of $1.5 million per patient. HIPAA Privacy Rule[2] infractions can be considered criminal acts and can lead to prosecution by the Department of Justice and jail time ranging from one to 10 years.

Is Compliance Really Being Enforced?
HIPAA laws are being enforced now more than ever, and private practices, including dental practices, are at the top of the list for those at risk of violations. Since July 2009, when the authority to administer and enforce the HIPAA Security Rule[3] was transferred to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the OCR has investigated more than 98,279 HIPAA complaints in which private practices were listed as the number one covered entity[4] required to take corrective action. Also in 2009, state attorneys general were granted the authority to bring civil actions (for HIPAA violations) on behalf of state residents through Health Information Technology for Clinical and Economic Health Act (HITECH). In January 2013, the Omnibus Rule, a final rule that implements a number of provisions of HITECH, pushed HIPAA toward much greater enforcement by reaffirming HIPAA privacy and security requirements. That year, the number of HIPAA-violation complaints received by Department of Health and Human Services spiraled upward.

What to Look for in a Compliant Messaging System
Whether dentists realize it or not, they and their staff members are breaking the law when they transmit patient records, x-rays and other EPHI through personal email accounts like Outlook 365, Yahoo Mail and Gmail. Though these accounts may claim to be secure, they lack key features that are necessary to make them HIPAA-compliant. To be HIPAA-compliant, email messaging systems must have these five specific requirements:

1. Access Controls: A covered entity is required to implement technical policies and procedures that limits access to systems containing protected health information only to personnel with sufficient access rights (164.312 (a)), including having:
   1. A unique user identification
   2. An emergency access procedure
   3. An automatic logoff process
   4. An encryption and decryption process
2. Audit Controls: A covered entity is required to implement software that records and examines activity in systems that contain or use protected health information (164.312(b)).
3. Integrity: A covered entity is required to develop and implement policies and procedures to protect protected health information from altercation or destruction (164.312(c)). This includes having a method to authenticate protected health information.
4. Person or Entity Authentication:  A covered entity has to implement procedures to verify a person or entity accessing protected health information is the one to whom the protected health information belongs (164.32(d)).
5. Transmission Security: A covered entity is required to implement technical measures to guard against unauthorized access to protected health information that is transmitted over an electronic communication network (164.312(e)). This includes integrity controls and encryption.

Email messaging systems also should include the “DIRECT” data-exchange protocol. DIRECT allows you to send HIPAA-compliant, encrypted emails to patients, doctors and others outside your network via the Internet. It uses a two-step verification system, checking for two unique identifiers such as a Social Security number and American Dental Association number. DIRECT protocol means an email recipient truly is the intended recipient.

Unless a practice is using a HIPAA-compliant messaging system, its providers are risking incurring violations and receiving penalties, fines or jail time. Make sure you and your staff are protecting your patients. Their privacy and your practice’s future depend on it.

Robert McDermott is the CEO and President of iMedicor. iMedicor’s iCoreExchange is a HIPAA-compliant secure messaging hub, and is endorsed by VDA Services. VDA members receive a 35% discount on services to protect their practices. For more information, please visit imedicor.com or call iMedicor at 888.810.7706.

Lance McCollough, Founder and CEO, ProSites

The purpose of working on your website’s search engine optimization (SEO) is to move your dental practice to the top of the search engine rankings – to be near the top of the first search page. While no one can guarantee your practice’s ranking, if you implement a good SEO marketing plan you should see movement in the right direction.

Here is why it’s important.

SEO is the most cost-effective marketing avenue for bringing new patients into your practice. Millions of searches happen every day and your placement in the search tells people how relevant you are to the questions they are asking. It may not be fair, but searchers feel more confident calling the practice listed on the first page of their search rather than the sixth page. That is why your SEO strategy should create value for searchers that are looking for your expertise, which then incentivizes search engines to endorse your business by increasing your website’s rankings.

Now that you understand the importance of SEO, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to attempt SEO yourself or seek out a pro? Optimization is not easy. To begin with, you need to understand Google algorithms and how they impact your strategy, Google Analytics data for your website and what it is telling you about searcher, website and traffic behavior, and troubleshoot your strategy when you’re not seeing the results you were hoping to obtain. Then you need to turn your search campaign objectives into tactics that will help you obtain the results that you are looking for like creating user-friendly landing pages and website. The list goes on and on and SEO is not something you can learn only once. The rules are changing almost daily. SEO marketing is an ongoing process that takes time, money and skills to do well.

Does all of this mean you can’t do your own search marketing? No, but there are a couple important questions you should answer before making the decision to either do it yourself or hire a pro.

Q1: Do I have the knowledge and skills to do my practice’s SEO?

While on the surface SEO may not seem that difficult – use hot keywords, get relevant links, post regularly – there are often technical aspects that can be tricky. Not to mention the time-consuming efforts needed to keep abreast of critical knowledge. Take a strong look at your current skill set and how much it meets your SEO needs. Are you a talented content writer? Do you understand HTML, CSS, or any website coding? Is your background in marketing? Do you understand how SEO tactics should be applied so that they align with your overall marketing objectives? If so, you may feel more confident in your ability to perform SEO for your practice.

Now look at you knowledge of new technologies. They often affect search engine strategies which may actually vary from engine to engine. The long-term success of your campaign depends on your ability to stay up to date with search engine rules, changes in SEO algorithms, technical coding details and trends in your website analytics to identify weaknesses in your strategy. Not keeping up could mean using an outdated optimization strategy or becoming too specific with your keyword plan which could potentially set your campaign back permanently, and even erase your website from search engines completely. Are you still confident in your SEO skills, or is this a job that may be better suited for a professional?

Q2: Do I have the time to handle both my patients’ needs and my practice’s SEO marketing?

Look at how much time you have for your practice and remember there are only 24 hours in a day. Your dental practice is your first priority and your patients are the heart of its success. Running your business and offering quality patient services takes a considerable amount of your time. Do you really have the hours to devote to your practice’s SEO as well? Assuming you put together a successful SEO strategy you’ll garner new patients and increase your workload. Will you have time to provide the quality services your patients have come to expect if you’re spending extra hours on SEO? 

SEO is an ongoing process. The SEO environment is constantly evolving. You can’t just pick a few keywords and be done with it. Performing well in this environment means digging in, researching and updating your knowledge every day. You will need to test keywords, metadata and test tactics based on changes in your rankings. That’s right, SEO marketing implements a lot of testing and retesting, especially if something goes wrong. Before deciding to do it yourself or hire a pro, take an honest look at your time and skills. Then decide where your time and skills make the greatest impact and give the most value to your practice.

It’s probably not a question of can you, but should you.

You’re a smart person. You’ve mastered many difficult things in your career and SEO could be your next conquest. The question is: should it be? While you may be able to learn the ins and outs of ranking factors and understand how to apply SEO best practices, you have to decide if that is where you get the most value from your time. Do you have time to do the hours of heavy lifting an initial campaign requires, the recurring weekly or monthly proactive optimization, as well as ongoing maintenance in response to insightful analytics and changes dictated by the search engines? How many patients could you have scheduled with those hours? 

Moving forward, SEO will be the most important marketing effort a small your dental practice can make. Users trust Google, Bing, and Yahoo and other search engines to answer their burning questions, provide solutions and give a list of the businesses that best meet their needs. You want to put your SEO in the most competent hands possible.

If after answering all the questions, you decide to do it yourself remember that the SEO process will take your time, skills and knowledge. If you decide that keeping up with your SEO and website management is not where you should be utilizing your skills, you may be better off hiring a pro. A qualified digital marketing firm can tailor an SEO strategy to your dental practice’s goals and expectations.

To learn how ProSites can help you boost your online presence and move your search rankings in the right direction contact us for a personal consultation at 888-932-3644.

Dr. James R. Schroeder

There is no question our dental profession as we know it is rapidly changing and business as usual will not suffice to remain on the cutting edge.

The external force from "dental insurance," and the impact it is having on our profession needs to be explored.  Dental insurance was hailed as a tremendous benefit for patients and doctors many years ago. Employers were able to provide a benefit to their employees that allowed them to gain access to the valuable benefit of preventative dental care and services for the treatment of dental disease. Another external force our patients face is that every product advertised in the media includes a beautiful smile elevating their desire for the services offered by our profession.  The dentist has enjoyed the increased awareness of the patient base that is now able to seek oral health care through having dental insurance.

So yes, dental insurance has been part of a very successful partnership within the dental profession bringing a tremendously high level of oral health to many populations in our country that did not have that option previously.

But, where are we trending today? The practices that Leadership by Design supports in transitions, growth and development reveal some very alarming trends that cannot be ignored. The scope of today’s article is to challenge you to do the following:

1. A full assessment in your practice of the facts for each insurance company you have agreed to be participating provider.                                                            Does your insurance administrator have a current contract available to review the benefits between the patient and dentist? This needs to be part of her job description.  As insurance companies hold the dentist accountable the dentist/staff must hold the insurance company accountable.

How can we do this effectively?

Intentional determination and persistence by the dental team that includes accurate record keeping must be part of the process.

It starts with timely and careful documentation of the services provided by each insurance carrier:  

         a.) Reimbursement for services included in the contract

         b.) An accurate list of dentists on the providers list that are not deceased or retired                     

         c.) Documentation of timely reimbursement of claims submitted 

         d.) Documentation of a licensed qualified dentist reviewing claims that              have been denied and appealed

         e.) Documentation of the current fee schedule being used and the date it was last updated.

The State Corporation Commission/Bureau of Insurance licenses, regulates, investigates and examines insurance companies, agencies and agents on behalf of the citizens of The Commonwealth of Virginia. (https://www.scc.virginia.gov/boi)  They are here to serve you when there is failure of insurance companies to deliver the contractual services agreed upon. Dental practices should become familiar with the rules and regulations as stated on the website.

2) What are the write-offs from the fee schedule for various services?   

The dentist must track this metric by each insurance company if they intend to make accurate decisions. How many patients have been seen in the last year under each contract? The dangerous trend I see in the wide scope of practices across Virginia is 25-50% write-offs are becoming common. The write-offs are approaching the total staff salaries and benefits in many offices. It is not uncommon for me to work with solo dentists who are writing off as much as $300,000.00 annually. 

A dentist is not at the negotiating table when contracts are developed between the employer and insurance companies.  The benefit package often plays second fiddle to the cost of the program when being evaluated by the employer.  I served on a large school board for 7,000 employees and vetted health benefits proposals.  The low bid for dental benefits often is awarded the contract. Neither the provider nor what they will be reimbursed for was provided.  The dentist needs to understand the reality of the market place.

The fear that grips many practices is "I must participate even if I am not covering my expenses to do the procedures.”  Many procrastinate on making the tough decision to drop programs that are not sustainable for a profitable practice. These kinds of important decisions require strong leadership that can lead both staff and patients.  Do your patients come to you because you are on their insurance program or because your team consistently provides an exceptional experience every time they come to the office?

Creating this type of culture is critical in order to generate a strong "word of mouth referral" especially if you are considering the reduction of participation in different insurance programs.  As mentioned earlier, starting with a fact based assessment and developing a solid plan is a good start that will take you in the desired direction.  All aspects should be considered on an individual practice by practice basis with a clear vision laid out of what lies ahead. Where do we go from here? 

A recent article in the Virginia Dental Journal highlighted a new business model bringing over 60 practices together providing strength in numbers.  It is important to sit down with your insurance administrator to make sure it is understood that business as usual will not suffice.  Provide him/her with the tools (contracts, training, etc.) to develop the communication skills with the Commission on Insurance when it is necessary.

3) Connect with ADA Benefit Plan Analyzer.

This is a great benefit you have as an ADA member. For $160.00 this plan can be purchased through the ADA Store, and if applied correctly can be an outstanding business tool.

The Analyzer will run "What If" scenarios for plans you are either currently using or under consideration. Analyze the cost and benefit before you pull the trigger on participating with an insurance program. There are other roads to building your practice beyond saying “yes” to every insurance contract.

If you say “yes”, then train your staff to keep accurate records and hold the insurance companies accountable to the terms of the contract. Most offices are not maximizing the use of their software programs in filing for insurance. Turnover of staff often results in the loss of continuity in the use of software and efficient filing of insurance claims.  Having a trainer come into the office annually can result in an excellent return on your investment. 

This article is to challenge you –

1.  What is the current status of insurance in your practice?

2.  What steps you can take to strengthen your position and not be a passive victim? Make insurance participation an asset not a liability.

3.  What resources you can use to increase your knowledge base to hold insurance companies accountable and develop your staff?

It is a great profession, but it is not for the faint of heart.  Explore your choices, develop your leadership skills and move forward with a plan. Please feel free to call for further conversation on this topic. 

 

 

Laura Cascella, The Medical Protective Company

Recent National Practitioner Data Bank reports indicate that healthcare-acquired infections (HCIs) have increased in ambulatory care settings. According to a guideline published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), “most outbreaks reported in outpatient settings were associated with noncompliance with infection control procedures.”¹

Dentists have a duty to protect their patients from infection. To assist them in doing this, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides several infection control resources for ambulatory care providers. Every office should seek out these resources and consider implementing them as part of office practice.

As business owners or administrative leaders, dentists also have a duty to ensure the safety of their employees. According to the AAP, “all employees should be educated regarding the route of transmission and techniques used to prevent transmission of infectious agents.”²

It is incorrect to assume that sterilization requirements are less important in private dental practices. In its infection control guideline, the AAP states that “in general, the standards for infection prevention and control are the same in all healthcare delivery settings, whether inpatient or outpatient, hospital or freestanding ambulatory facility.”³ It would be safe to assume that deviation from infection control procedures may increase the risk of infection — and the potential for malpractice litigation — for all ambulatory care venues.

However, in many ambulatory care settings, a casual attitude toward infection control often weakens office policies and procedures. Although equipment sterilization processes might be followed, the likelihood of contamination is unabated if clinical staff

don’t wash their hands in accordance with the guidelines. One noncompliant individual can undo the faithful compliance of all the other employees.

Public awareness of the increased risk of infection should heighten practitioners’ oversight of infection control in their offices. Patients are becoming more demanding and less forgiving when they note obvious breaches. Some offices are taking direct action, placing hand cleaning stations at entrances and placing hand disinfectant products throughout the offices. Signs noted include:

• “Ask us to wash our hands before we start.”
• “Clean gloves require clean hands first.”
• “Please ask us for more information about infection control.”

Additional efforts to encourage the active participation of patients are supported by the WAVE Campaign, introduced by the Office of Healthcare Quality and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and endorsed by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). Together, these organizations encourage families to be more involved in fighting healthcare-associated infections.

The WAVE campaign asks patients and their family members to:    

• Wash hands
• Ask questions
• Vaccinate
• Ensure safety

Another resource for patient education regarding infection prevention is the Henry the Hand Foundation, founded by Cincinnati physician Will Sawyer, M.D. Dr. Sawyer developed the Henry program to help everyone avoid infections. Henry the Hand promotes four main principles of hand awareness:

1.    WASH your hands when they are dirty and BEFORE eating.
2.    DO NOT cough into your hands.
3.    DO NOT sneeze into your hands.
4.    Above all, DO NOT put your fingers in your eyes, nose, or mouth.⁴

Dr. Sawyer refers to the fourth principle as “the T Zone,” the area composed of the eyes, nose, and mouth. He says that the T Zone “is the only portal of entry into the human body for all respiratory and gastro-intestinal infections. Dentists are further ahead than many physicians because they wear health shields to prevent infections from entering their eyes, noses, or mouths when in close proximity to patients.”

The Henry the Hand website is a resource for a variety of educational materials that doctors can use to help educate their patients (especially children) and their families.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also offers a variety of educational materials and resources for healthcare providers, regardless of their professions, specialties, or areas of geographic practice. Many of these materials are formatted in brief monographs, written in simple language, and could easily be used for staff education, patient information, or even for public health updates.

Without education, dedication, and reinforcement, the daily hustle of a busy office can overwhelm the best intentioned doctors and staffs. Review of the following statements may help the dental practice determine whether there is a need to revise and recommit to their infection control plan:

• Every new employee, including temporary staff, has received infection control education.
• We provide infection control updates and reminders frequently.
• Anyone in our office can remind any other employee about infection control.
• We have an infection control officer whose infection control duties are defined in his or her job description.
• We have a written infection control plan, and everyone in our office has read and signed off on it.
• We have written documentation procedures for our infection control plan.
• We review documentation and take corrective action.
• Our office has written competencies for infection prevention practices, including employee safety and cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization procedures.
• We encourage patients to wash hands, to be aware of our infection control efforts, and to ask questions — or remind us — if they think we’ve forgotten to take appropriate action.
• Our commitment to patient safety requires that each of us accepts personal accountability for infection prevention every day.
• Our administrative team members, including our infection control officer, have read and stay aware of the guidelines and resources that help us keep our infection control program up to date and effective.

 
A sound infection control program is an essential part of any healthcare environment. Through active commitment to infection prevention, dentists can protect the health of their patients and employees and reduce the chances of generating or losing an infection-related professional liability lawsuit.

REFERENCES:

¹American Academy of Pediatrics. (2000, June). Infection control in physicians’ offices. Committee on Infectious Diseases and Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine. Pediatrics, 105(6), 1361–1369. Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/  content/105/6/1361.full

²Ibid

³Ibid

⁴Since 2001, the Principles of Hand Awareness have been endorsed by the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians.This article was produced by the clinical risk management team at Medical Protective, the nation’s oldest professional liability insurance company dedicated to the healthcare professions. For additional information, please contact Laura Cascella at laura.cascella@medpro.com or visit the Medical Protective website athttp://www.medpro.com/.

© The Medical Protective Company. All rights reserved.

VA Board of Dentistry Inspection Form

Does your dental practice call or text patients? You might need to get their prior written consent and take certain other steps in order to avoid liability and penalties under federal laws such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). These laws are an attempt to address the problem of unwanted telemarketing communications, but may result in situations where traditional methods of contacting patients run afoul of the rules.  
 
Below are some suggestions and a sample consent form to help you. The rules themselves are complicated and depend on a lot of things, like what the message is, whether you’re calling a wireless or a landline phone, and whether you’re using an automated or prerecorded voice or equipment that is capable of autodialing phone numbers. Lots of phones are “capable” of autodialing – don’t assume yours isn’t. The law’s definition of “capable of autodialing” is so broad and vague that only rotary phones appear to fall outside of it. Some of these rules are being challenged in court, and some of them seem to be here to stay. And there is a small carve-out for practices covered by HIPAA (See section III below). Your state may also have laws that apply to phone calls and texts, and state law can be even more stringent than the federal law. 

Click HERE to read the full article on the ADA Center for Professional Success.

Keep up to date on prescription addition ​from the Virginia Department of Public Health.

Click HERE for current news and information.