DrBicuspid.com Practice Management Insider

Dear Practice Management Insider,

Terry Tanaka, DDS, has been honored by the California Dental Association (CDA) Foundation with the 2011 Humanitarian Award in recognition of his work treating thousands of poor Mexican children with cleft lip and palate.

For decades Dr. Tanaka has been the driving force organizing dental and surgical teams to cross the border to provide a range of care, including surgical, restorative, prosthetic, and orthodontic treatment, as well as speech therapy and hearing testing.

Read more about his efforts in this latest Practice Management Insider Exclusive.

In other Practice Management Community news, dentists could play a crucial role in frontline healthcare by screening for systemic disease, according to a new study by New York University. Read what dental professionals can look for during routine dental exams to detect risk for systemic conditions.

And a survey of healthcare experts found they overwhelmingly support the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Click here to see which of the new law’s elements they say are most important.

Meanwhile, as many states struggle with budget gaps, federal officials approved a California proposal to reduce Medi-Cal provider reimbursements by 10% in 2012, retroactive to June 2011. Read more about how the Medicaid cuts will impact physicians, dentists, clinics, optometrists, medical equipment, laboratories, and pharmacies.

In a related story, the CDA joined the state's medical and pharmacist groups in a federal lawsuit against California and federal health agencies protesting the proposed Medicaid cutbacks. Click here to read more.

In another story about the impact of state budget shortfalls, a Florida report found that more than 115,000 hospital emergency room (ER) visits in 2010 were for treatment of conditions that could have been avoided with proper preventive and restorative dental care. The report details the growing number of children receiving ER dental care.

However, there is some good news amid the economic gloom and doom: More than 175 million people in the U.S. -- 57% of the population -- were covered by some form of dental benefits in 2010. A report details increases in total national enrollment, including federal and state data.

And a Kansas college is taking the first steps toward its goal of becoming the next university in the U.S. to offer a program designed to train midlevel providers. Click here to read about Fort Hays State University’s possible curriculum for the program to train registered dental practitioners.

Finally, A New York dentist is in legal hot water for requiring patients to agree not to post negative comments about her online before she would treat them. Read about the class-action lawsuit, which highlights the growing role that social media is playing in professional circles, and dentists' fears about the impact of such sites on their reputations.