BD Silverman Consulting (BDSC) is one of the leading consulting organizations in the country focused solely on the Dental Benefits Industry. Bruce has spent nearly 40 years in the industry working at companies such as American Dental Examiners, US Dental Plans, Group Health Inc., Delta Dental of New Jersey, and for the last 5 years, as CEO of BDSC.
cOVID-19
[UPDATED: August 17, 2020]
I hope this update finds you and your team in good health and your business keeping its head above water during these trying times.
Life as we know it has changed forever. How you manage your patients / customers during this time will have a lasting impact on your business. In addition, you will need to focus on “business in the future” as things that worked for you in the past may not work in the post COVID-19 era.
I have posted this page for two purposes:
1. To provide a central point of information where you can find current and accurate information on the dental benefits industry; and
2. If you are looking to conduct business via Teledentistry, provide you with any guidance / assistance you may need.
Dental Benefits Industry
As you have undoubtedly experienced, we are living in a fluid, constantly evolving environment. Some organizations are adapting quickly, others not so fast. Teledentistry is now the single most effective means by which you can interact with a patient for their emergency needs.
[UPDATED: May 15, 2020] This is a link to my Dental Payer Summary based on information from the ADA as well as from my own professional network, as to how Dental Payers will reimburse you for your services.
Financial Assistance And PPE Programs For The Dental Community
[SIGNIFICANT UPDATES: August 17, 2020] Click here to download all of the Financial Assistance programs I have located for Dentists and Dental Offices.
TeleDentistry
Right now, everyone is looking for “quick solutions” for their patients / customers. However, choosing the right TeleDentistry partner for both the short- and long-term is critical.
Dental Office Patient Informed Consent:
I have created a sample Patient Informed Consent Form for Dentists who are seeing patients virtually through a TeleDentistry solution
TeleDentistry Solutions
Solutions that are in the marketplace today include:
• Virtual Dental Care www.virtualdentalcare.com
• Teladentistry.com www.teladentistry.com
• Virtudent www.virtudent.com
• Toothpic www.toothpic.com
• Mouthwatch www.mouthwatch.com
Virtual Dental Care
I have personally chosen to work with Virtual Dental Care and am currently an Advisor to the VDC leadership team. Founded in 2016, VDC was the industry’s first provider of a robust proprietary Software as a Service TeleDentistry platform. Called TeleDentix, the software supports all aspects of teledentistry delivery. TeleDentix is accessed through a secure weblink connection so this could be deployed relatively quickly for you. VDC also offers unique teledentistry support services to facilitate the adoption of teledentistry.
Subscribe to TeleDentix on YouTube
Although the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it “will exercise its enforcement discretion and will not impose penalties for noncompliance with the regulatory requirements under the HIPAA Rules against covered health care providers in connection with the good faith provision of telehealth during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency”, you should also note that approaches such Apple FaceTime, Facebook Messenger video chat, Google Hangouts video, or Skype are not HIPAA Compliant. So why start with something that is non-compliant and then have to address that a few months later.
At its core, VDC is a technology company with extensive background in the dental benefits industry. I’ve known Richard Lee, CEO and Dr. Bill Jackson, COO for many years, including working with Richard in the early 1990s when electronic claims submission first began between Dental Payers and Computer Age Dentist, the first Windows based dental office practice management that he created.
You can use the following link for more details on Virtual Dental Care’s Teledentix Products.