26
New Mexico Dental Journal, Summer 2015
BODHC
A
New Mexico general dentist extracts all
four third molars on a Friday afternoon.
The following day, the patient presents
to an Emergency Room with pain, extensive
bruising, and mandibular swelling. Upon ques-
tioning, the patient states that he tried to call
his general dentist, but there was no answer and
the office was closed. No “after-hours” number
was given post-operatively and there was not an
answering machine or alternate phone number.
The oral surgeon, on-call in the ER, attempts to
call the general dentist, as well, with the same
result...no answer.
Answering services, call phones, call forwarding...
there are several different approaches/mecha-
nisms to stay in touch with
our patients for after hour
concerns/emergencies.
Dentists are in the unique
situation where, typically,
we are on call 24/7 for our
patients, unless the burden
can be shared amongst
associates, partners or
within a group. Either way,
when it is “your turn”, what is your responsibility
as a dentist, under the New Mexico law?
This issue has come to the attention of the NM
Board of Dental Health Care over the last few
months. The situation has arisen where oral
surgeons, covering for their local emergency
rooms, have expressed some concern that dentists
in our state need some clarification as to our
responsibilities to our patients of record.
The Law
The law states
that licensees must “make avail-
able to current patients of record a reasonable
method of contacting the treating dentist or
on-call service for dental emergencies; dental
practices may refer patients to an alternate
urgent care or emergency facility if no other
option is available at the time, or if the
contacted dentist deems it necessary for the
patient’s well-being (NMAC 16.5.16.10.B.25)
You are obligated
by law to provide patients
with post op contact information and follow-
up emergency care, or refer to a specialist or
the emergency department if it falls outside of
your scope of care. With this said, to avoid a
situation where breaking the above mentioned
law or patient abandonment may become an
issue, it is necessary to provide a feasible way for
your patients to contact the dentist on call for
a given practice. If it is deemed, after a return
phone call or after-hours office visit, that it falls
outside the scope of the dentist, then ER refer-
rals or specialty referrals may be made. The law
is not to be interpreted that the ER is our auto-
matic emergency contingency.
For best practices
, an earnest effort must be
demonstrated and recorded as to after hour
emergency protocols followed per patient. To
avoid question, for every patient call after hours,
documentation of the interaction is imperative.
In addition, chart notes regarding referrals to
specialists or emergency departments made,
prescriptions called into the pharmacy, and
follow-up procedures recommended are indi-
cated to ensure legal and proper management
of an emergency situation.
24/7 Call?
After-hours Visit or Emergency Room...What’s the Law in New Mexico?
By Kimberly Martin, DMD, New Mexico Board of Dental Health
You are obligated by
law to provide patients
with post op contact
information and follow-
up emergency care...
