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GOOD NEWS FROM ANNUAL SESSION HEALTH SCREENING
-NEWS determine whether they were eligible for financial assistance based on their income and number of children. Likewise, a number of patients could not comprehend the rights and responsibilities section of the Medicaid application. GOOD NEWS FROM ANNUAL SESSION HEALTH SCREENING
Results from the 1995 ADA Health Screening Program showed an increase in the number of dentists vaccinated against hepatitis B and, for the fifth straight year, there were no positive tests for the human immunodeficiency virus. Anonymous HIV testing has been offered as part of the program since 1986. In that time, 15,000 dentists have been screened with only four positive test results. These data seem to indicate that the occupational risk for HIV is not high in dentistry, notes Chakwan Siew, Ph.D., ADA's director of toxicology research. Dr. Siew also notes that dentists rank high among health care professionals who heed the advice of government agencies about hepatitis B vaccines. About 86 percent of the screening participants had been vaccinated, up almost 70 percent from 1983. More than 1,700 dentists and nearly 250 dental hygienists and assistants participated in the program, conducted during the ADA's annual session in Las Vegas last October. KEYS TO KEEPING GOOD PATIENT RECORDS
Maintaining clear, concise and current patient records is an important element of providing quality patient care. 164 JADA, Vol. 127, February 1996
In a recent issue of the New York State Dental Journal, Dr. Milton Lawney outlined several keys to keeping thorough records: - Use a consistent style for each entry. Consistency lends credibility to your records and reflects your professionalism in maintaining them. - Date and explain any corrections. m Always use ink, as pencil tends to fade and may be too easily altered. Should your records be evaluated for litigation purposes, use of ink would support their integrity. - If you need to make a change, use a single-line cross-out. Do not try to erase or white out information, as this may lead to suspicions about the records. - Write legibly. - Note any concerns about the patient's needs and expectations and how they have been addressed with the patient. - Never write derogatory remarks in the record. Do note any failure or reluctance on the part of the patient to follow treatment advice or report for treatment, but do so in a professional, objective fashion. - Do not note fees in the record. Fees and related issues should be maintained in a separate financial record in which you should note that they were discussed with and understood by the patient. When noted in the treatment record, fees can give the appearance that the dentist was more attuned to the financial aspects than the medical aspects of the treatment plan. SMOKING TREND CONTINUES TO RISE AMONG TEENS
Smoking rates continued to climb among America's youth in
1995, report researchers from the University of Michigan's survey center. Data from UM's Monitoring the Future Study-a national survey conducted annually since 1975-indicate that reports of smoking among eighth and 10th graders have increased by almost 2.5 percent since 1991. Just over 19 percent of the 18,000 surveyed eighth graders reported having had a cigarette within 30 days of the survey, as did nearly 28 percent of the 17,000 10th graders and 34 percent of the 16,000 high-school seniors. "For reasons that may confound a great many adults," explains Lloyd Johnston, a social scientist involved with the study, "a large number of young people seem to feel reassured about the safety of smoking, particularly in the early teen years, which is when a great many of them start smoking." In fact, the UM study found that fewer than half of the surveyed eighth graders associated great health risks with smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. Even by their senior year, less than two-thirds of the students believed that smoking posed significant risks to their health. Johnston also notes that these increases in the prevalence of smoking are broad, cutting across all social classes and regions of the country. Smoking rates are climbing among boys and girls in communities of all sizes, regardless of whether the child plans to attend college. Johnston suggests that the availability of cigarettes to teens, advertising and promotion of cigarettes and the seeming resurgence of smoking among celebrities may be factors in this trend.
Results from the 1995 ADA Health Screening Program showed an increase in the number of dentists vaccinated against hepatitis B and, for the fifth straight year, there were no positive tests for the human immunodeficiency virus. Anonymous HIV testing has been offered as part of the program since 1986. In that time, 15,000 dentists have been screened with only four positive test results. These data seem to indicate that the occupational risk for HIV is not high in dentistry, notes Chakwan Siew, Ph.D., ADA's director of toxicology research. Dr. Siew also notes that dentists rank high among health care professionals who heed the advice of government agencies about hepatitis B vaccines. About 86 percent of the screening participants had been vaccinated, up almost 70 percent from 1983. More than 1,700 dentists and nearly 250 dental hygienists and assistants participated in the program, conducted during the ADA's annual session in Las Vegas last October. KEYS TO KEEPING GOOD PATIENT RECORDS
Maintaining clear, concise and current patient records is an important element of providing quality patient care. 164 JADA, Vol. 127, February 1996
In a recent issue of the New York State Dental Journal, Dr. Milton Lawney outlined several keys to keeping thorough records: - Use a consistent style for each entry. Consistency lends credibility to your records and reflects your professionalism in maintaining them. - Date and explain any corrections. m Always use ink, as pencil tends to fade and may be too easily altered. Should your records be evaluated for litigation purposes, use of ink would support their integrity. - If you need to make a change, use a single-line cross-out. Do not try to erase or white out information, as this may lead to suspicions about the records. - Write legibly. - Note any concerns about the patient's needs and expectations and how they have been addressed with the patient. - Never write derogatory remarks in the record. Do note any failure or reluctance on the part of the patient to follow treatment advice or report for treatment, but do so in a professional, objective fashion. - Do not note fees in the record. Fees and related issues should be maintained in a separate financial record in which you should note that they were discussed with and understood by the patient. When noted in the treatment record, fees can give the appearance that the dentist was more attuned to the financial aspects than the medical aspects of the treatment plan. SMOKING TREND CONTINUES TO RISE AMONG TEENS
Smoking rates continued to climb among America's youth in
1995, report researchers from the University of Michigan's survey center. Data from UM's Monitoring the Future Study-a national survey conducted annually since 1975-indicate that reports of smoking among eighth and 10th graders have increased by almost 2.5 percent since 1991. Just over 19 percent of the 18,000 surveyed eighth graders reported having had a cigarette within 30 days of the survey, as did nearly 28 percent of the 17,000 10th graders and 34 percent of the 16,000 high-school seniors. "For reasons that may confound a great many adults," explains Lloyd Johnston, a social scientist involved with the study, "a large number of young people seem to feel reassured about the safety of smoking, particularly in the early teen years, which is when a great many of them start smoking." In fact, the UM study found that fewer than half of the surveyed eighth graders associated great health risks with smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. Even by their senior year, less than two-thirds of the students believed that smoking posed significant risks to their health. Johnston also notes that these increases in the prevalence of smoking are broad, cutting across all social classes and regions of the country. Smoking rates are climbing among boys and girls in communities of all sizes, regardless of whether the child plans to attend college. Johnston suggests that the availability of cigarettes to teens, advertising and promotion of cigarettes and the seeming resurgence of smoking among celebrities may be factors in this trend.