GDA Action April May 2020

April/May 2020 • 43 on Industry Challenges Dr. Peter Shatz Chair, GDA Innovation Task Force Since we don't know the COVID-19 infectious dose, it is hard to make any sound recommendations on air quality yet. We should have that at some point in the near future. Until then, it is the big question hanging in the air, literally. Please refer to this article: wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/7/20-0764_article. Ultimately, it will probably be better to look at the status of the epidemic within a particular practice catchment area, such as in each county and surrounding counties where a practice has their patients after May 1. In some places, like Albany, it may be much later. LEGISLATIVE To be fair in judging the efforts of the GDA to help manage state recommendations on reopening dentistry, look at the situation in Alabama. The Alabama Dental Association made recommendations to the state government but were seemingly ignored. The task force wants to have testing by a dental office to be included in our scope of practice. Despite no clear favorable test type (antibody vs viral load), lack of testing supplies and equipment, the task force wants us to have the ability to test when these issues are resolved. The task force wants dentists to be able to recoup the enormous fees we are about to bear for bringing our practices up to the new guidelines and to maintain them thereafter. The ADA recommends using the code D1999 (unspecified preventive procedure, by report). Delta Dental, for only New York and New Jersey, will pay a $10 fee for this service. Reimbursement in Georgia is unclear at this time. Please call your third-party insurance companies and see what they can do for you. The task force recommends we lobby for legislation to allow for some flexibility for dentists to be able to choose effective PPE and infrastructure changes. Prior to COVID-19 there were CDC guidelines for infection control. Post-COVID-19, we hope to avoid mandates for infection control. When you choose to reopen, be aware that Governor Kemp has established specific requirements for Georgia licensed dentists. (See page 18 of Gov. Kemp’s Executive Order dated April 23, 2020.) OFFICE OF THE FUTURE/ PUBLIC RELATIONS The ADA will be rolling out reopening guidance in stages. Mask use was the first, this will be followed by reopening then employee/management. The GDA will be disseminating best practices for the new reality of dentistry in the COVID-19 world. On the other side of the coin, the GDA will be repositioning our current public relations efforts to educate the public on the new face of dentistry (pre-visit check-in, screening, staff always in PPE, longer visits, scarcer visits). In summary, the task force recommends you follow Governor Kemp’s April 23 Executive Order, while taking into consideration all current CDC, OSHA, CMS, GDA and ADA interim guidance related to dentistry. Keep your eye on information flowing from the GDA on best practices (as we have done for waste water, HIV, and hepatitis). Know that we will be educating the public on the new face of dentistry, and our profession on when and how it is safe to return to the dental office. The task force recommends getting COVID-19 testing into the scope of our practice, insurance to pay for increase PPE use, and waive frequency limitations for insurances due to the dental hiatus. Use the D1999 code for infection control measures. We recommend expanding our scope of practice to include in-office testing, and your ADA is actively working on this. Lastly, we want the ADA to keep our voice and seat at the table with the CDC and OSHA as they will be the bodies setting the policies for dentistry going forward.