Bill Text: VA SB122 | 2020 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Teledentistry; definitions, establishes requirements for practice, digital scans, etc.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2020-03-10 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0220) [SB122 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2020-SB122-Comm_Sub.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§54.1-2700, 54.1-2711, and 54.1-2719 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Article 2 of Chapter 27 of Title 54.1 a section numbered 54.1-2708.5 as follows:
§54.1-2700. Definitions.
As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:
"Appliance" means a permanent or removable device used in a plan of dental care, including crowns, fillings, bridges, braces, dentures, orthodontic aligners, and sleep apnea devices.
"Board" means the Board of Dentistry.
"Dental hygiene" means duties related to patient assessment and the rendering of educational, preventive, and therapeutic dental services specified in regulations of the Board and not otherwise restricted to the practice of dentistry.
"Dental hygienist" means a person who is licensed by the Board to practice dental hygiene.
"Dentist" means a person who has been awarded a degree in and is licensed by the Board to practice dentistry.
"Dentistry" means the evaluation, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment, through surgical, nonsurgical, or related procedures, of diseases, disorders, and conditions of the oral cavity and the maxillofacial, adjacent, and associated structures and their impact on the human body.
"Digital scan" means digital technology that creates a computer-generated replica of the hard and soft tissues of the oral cavity using enhanced digital photography.
"Digital scan technician" means a person who has completed a training program approved by the Board to take digital scans of intraoral and extraoral hard and soft tissues for use in teledentistry.
"Digital work order" means the digital equivalent of a written dental laboratory work order used in the construction or repair of an appliance.
"License" means the document issued to an applicant upon completion of requirements for admission to practice dentistry or dental hygiene in the Commonwealth or upon registration for renewal of license to continue the practice of dentistry or dental hygiene in the Commonwealth.
"License to practice dentistry" means any license to practice dentistry issued by the Board.
"Maxillofacial" means pertaining to the jaws and face, particularly with reference to specialized surgery of this region.
"Oral and maxillofacial surgeon" means a person who has successfully completed an oral and maxillofacial residency program, approved by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association, and who holds a valid license from the Board.
"Store-and-forward technologies" means the technologies that allow for the electronic transmission of dental and health information, including images, photographs, documents, and health histories, through a secure communication system.
"Teledentistry" means the delivery of dentistry between a patient and a dentist who holds a license to practice dentistry issued by the Board through the use of telehealth systems and electronic technologies or media, including interactive, two-way audio or video.
§54.1-2708.5. Digital scans for use in the practice of dentistry; practice of digital scan technicians.
A. No person other than a dentist, dental hygienist, dental assistant I, dental assistant II, digital scan technician, or other person under the direction of a dentist shall obtain dental scans for use in the practice of dentistry.
B. A digital scan technician who obtains dental scans for use in the practice of teledentistry shall work under the direction of a dentist who is (i) licensed by the Board to practice dentistry in the Commonwealth, (ii) accessible and available for communication and consultation with the digital scan technician at all times during the patient interaction, and (iii) responsible for ensuring that the digital scan technician has a program of training approved by the Board for such purpose. All protocols and procedures for the performance of digital scans by digital scan technicians and evidence that a digital scan technician has complied with the training requirements of the Board shall be made available to the Board upon request.
§54.1-2711. Practice of dentistry.
A. Any person shall be deemed to be practicing
dentistry who (i) uses the words dentist, or dental surgeon, the letters
D.D.S., D.M.D., or any letters or title in connection with his name, which in
any way represents him as engaged in the practice of dentistry; (ii) holds
himself out, advertises, or permits to be advertised that he can or will
perform dental operations of any kind; (iii) diagnoses, treats, or professes to
diagnose or treat any of the diseases or lesions of the oral cavity, its
contents, or contiguous structures,; or (iv) extracts
teeth, corrects malpositions of the teeth or jaws, takes or causes to be
taken digital scans or impressions for the fabrication of appliances or
dental prosthesis, supplies or repairs artificial teeth as substitutes for
natural teeth, or places in the mouth and adjusts such substitutes. Taking
impressions for mouth guards that may be self-fabricated or obtained over-the-counter
does not constitute the practice of dentistry.
B. No person shall practice dentistry unless a bona fide dentist-patient relationship is established in person or through teledentistry. A bona fide dentist-patient relationship shall exist if the dentist has (i) obtained or caused to be obtained a health and dental history of the patient; (ii) performed or caused to be performed an appropriate examination of the patient, either physically, through use of instrumentation and diagnostic equipment through which digital scans, photographs, images, and dental records are able to be transmitted electronically, or through use of face-to-face interactive two-way real-time communications services or store-and-forward technologies; (iii) provided information to the patient about the services to be performed; and (iv) initiated additional diagnostic tests or referrals as needed. In cases in which a dentist is providing teledentistry, the examination required by clause (ii) shall not be required if the patient has been examined in person by a dentist licensed by the Board within the six months prior to the initiation of teledentistry and the patient's dental records of such examination have been reviewed by the dentist providing teledentistry.
C. No person shall deliver dental services through teledentistry unless he holds a license to practice dentistry in the Commonwealth issued by the Board and has established written or electronic protocols for the practice of teledentistry that include (i) methods to ensure that patients are fully informed about services provided through the use of teledentistry, including obtaining informed consent; (ii) safeguards to ensure compliance with all state and federal laws and regulations related to the privacy of health information; (iii) documentation of all dental services provided to a patient through teledentistry, including the full name, address, telephone number, and Virginia license number of the dentist providing such dental services; (iv) procedures for providing in-person services or for the referral of patients requiring dental services that cannot be provided by teledentistry to another dentist licensed to practice dentistry in the Commonwealth who actually practices dentistry in an area of the Commonwealth the patient can readily access; (v) provisions for the use of appropriate encryption when transmitting patient health information via teledentistry; and (vi) any other provisions required by the Board. A dentist who delivers dental services using teledentistry shall, upon request of the patient, provide health records to the patient or a dentist of record in a timely manner in accordance with §32.1-127.1:03 and any other applicable federal or state laws or regulations. All patients receiving dental services through teledentistry shall have the right to speak or communicate with the dentist providing such services upon request.
D. Dental services delivered through use of teledentistry shall (i) be consistent with the standard of care as set forth in § 8.01-581.20, including when the standard of care requires the use of diagnostic testing or performance of a physical examination, and (ii) comply with the requirements of this chapter and the regulations of the Board.
E. In cases in which teledentistry is provided to a patient who has a dentist of record but has not had a dental wellness examination in the six months prior to the initiation of teledentistry, the dentist providing teledentistry shall recommend that the patient schedule a dental wellness examination. If a patient to whom teledentistry is provided does not have a dentist of record, the dentist shall provide or cause to be provided to the patient options for referrals for obtaining a dental wellness examination.
F. No dentist shall be supervised within the scope of the practice of dentistry by any person who is not a licensed dentist.
§54.1-2719. Persons engaged in construction and repair of appliances.
A. Licensed dentists may employ or engage the services of any
person, firm, or corporation to construct or repair an appliance,
extraorally, prosthetic dentures, bridges, or other replacements for a part
of a tooth, a tooth, or teeth in accordance with a written or digital
work order. Any appliance constructed or repaired by a person, firm, or
corporation pursuant to this section shall be evaluated and reviewed by the
licensed dentist who submitted the written or digital work order, or a licensed
dentist in the same dental practice. A person, firm, or corporation
so employed or engaged shall not be considered to be practicing dentistry. No
such person, firm, or corporation shall perform any direct dental
service for a patient, but they may assist a dentist in the selection of shades
for the matching of prosthetic devices when the dentist sends the patient to
them with a written or digital work order.
B. Any licensed dentist who employs the services of any
person, firm, or corporation not working in a dental office under his
the dentist's direct supervision to construct or repair, an
appliance extraorally, prosthetic dentures, bridges, replacements, or
orthodontic appliances for a part of a tooth, a tooth, or teeth, shall
furnish such person, firm, or corporation with a written or digital work
order on forms prescribed by the Board, which shall, at minimum, contain:
(i) the name and address of the person, firm, or corporation; (ii) the
patient's name or initials or an identification number; (iii) the date the work
order was written; (iv) a description of the work to be done, including
diagrams, if necessary; (v) specification of the type and quality of materials
to be used; and (vi) the signature and address of the dentist.
The person, firm, or corporation shall retain the original written work order or an electronic copy of a digital work order, and the dentist shall retain a duplicate of the written work order or an electronic copy of a digital work order, for three years.
C. If the person, firm, or corporation receiving
receives a written or digital work order from a licensed dentist engages
a subcontractor to perform services relative to the work order, a written
disclosure and subwork order shall be furnished to the dentist on
forms prescribed by the Board, which shall, at minimum, contain:
(i) the name and address of the person, firm, or corporation and
subcontractor; (ii) a number identifying the subwork order with the original
work order; (iii) the date the any subwork order was written;
(iv) a description of the work to be done and the work to be done by the
subcontractor, including diagrams or digital files, if necessary;
(v) a specification of the type and quality of materials to be used; and (vi)
the signature of the person issuing the disclosure and subwork order.
The subcontractor shall retain the subwork order, and the issuer shall retain a duplicate of the subwork order, which shall be attached to the work order received from the licensed dentist, for three years.
D. No person, firm, or corporation engaged in the construction or repair of appliances shall refuse to allow the Board or its agents to inspect the files of work orders or subwork orders during ordinary business hours.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to a work
order for the construction, reproduction, or repair, extraorally, of prosthetic
dentures, bridges, or other replacements for a part of a tooth, a tooth, or
teeth, done by a person, firm or corporation pursuant to a written work order
received from a licensed dentist who is residing and practicing in another
state.