TMC Programs are Endorsed Programs by the NCDS. Total Medical Compliance provides a full range of programs customized to meet the compliance and training needs of North Carolina Dental Society members. You can choose the benefits of an onsite program and have an experienced consultant inspect your facility and provide site specific training for your team. Or you can choose the convenience of a web based program for your staff supported by our compliance team. Compliance Information and Best Practices Total Medical Compliance, in partnership with NCDS, will keep you up-to-date on the latest compliance information and best practices. Never has it been so easy to find the latest information.  TMC also provides seminars and webinars on compliance topics of interest to NCDS members – OSHA, HIPAA, Infection Control/SPICE, Workplace Violence, and others. Access to some information and forms may require registration as it is only available to NCDS members and TMC clients. As a NCDS member all you have to do is register by clicking on the button below and your access code will be sent to you by email immediately.

Our office is already registered – take me to the TMC NCDS page.

Is your office ready for an OSHA Inspection?

An OSHA inspection of a compliant office is not a reason for concern. There are however many OSHA standards that are applicable to a dental facility and some may be overlooked. Even if you think your office is compliant with OSHA an extra look may save you time and money. This inspection checklist was developed from dozens of OSHA inspections conducted in North Carolina in 2010 and 2011.

Access the Inspection Checklist…

Discounts and Promotions

Medical Security Insurance

TMC is pleased to announce a partnership with Medical Security Insurance who will offer a 5% Risk Management credit for two consecutive years upon insurance renewal for any dental client utilizing TMC on-site compliance services. Read more about TMC’s on-site compliance programs.

Complimentary Compliance Newsletters

Stay up-to-date with the latest information on OSHA, Infection Control, Red Flag Rules, HIPAA, Patient Safety and other topics of interest to healthcare providers. The newsletters are sent by email each month. Register to receive them.

Complementary Webinars
Webinars allow you to attend a session presented by trained professionals from the convenience of your office. You can invite others from your office to join you for no additional charge. They can even attend from home or another office computer at no additional charge.

Click here to read more about these Webinars for Healthcare and register to attend.

OSHA Manuals for $225 – Save $50 on the manual and receive other free services

For a limited time…

Receive $155 in other complimentary add-ons. ($95 on the webinar & $60 on the annual update package)

• Attend the OSHA Safety Officer Training webinar at no additional charge

This webinar is conducted monthly by TMC for new Safety Officers of TMC clients. Karen Gregory, our Director of Training and Compliance, will review the TMC OSHA Manual, cover required customization, forms that must be completed and available for OSHA inspections, administrative duties of the compliance officer, new regulatory information and other topics of importance at the time.

• Receive the second year manual update package at no charge  

OSHA requires you to review your manual on an annual basis, make updates as necessary and record this activity.

Use coupon code ncds50 at checkout. TMC will automatically add the other services.

OSHA Manuals Are Mandatory.

Not having current and complete manuals is in the top 3 for OSHA violations! OSHA requires every location to have written Bloodborne Pathogens, Hazard Communication and Emergency Action Plans. The TMC manual provides all of the plans required by law and much more. Our manual gives you Infection Control information required by NC law and includes NC Medical Waste disposal laws as well.

TMC HIPAA Compliance Manuals for $225 – Save $50 and receive other free services

For a limited time…

Receive $155 in other complimentary add-ons.  ($95 on the webinar & $60 on the annual update package)

• Attend the HIPAA Privacy Officer Administration Training webinar at no additional charge.

This webinar is conducted monthly by TMC for new Privacy Officers of TMC clients. Karen Gregory, our Director of Training and Compliance, will review the TMC HIPAA Compliance Manual, cover required customization, forms that must be used and compliant with HIPAA regulations, administrative duties and responsibilities of the Privacy Officer, completion of the required Annual Risk Assessment, Breach and other topics of importance at the time.

• Receive the second year manual updates at no additional charge

HITECH Act required regulatory changes will continue for 3 or more years meaning that continuous changes in policies and procedures will be required as HHS publishes regulations and begins to enforce the standard as mandated by Congress. This will cover you through 2012 for policies.

Use coupon code ncds50 at checkout.

Documented policies and procedures on HIPAA Privacy & Security are mandatory.

The TMC HIPAA Compliance Manual includes all of the updated policies for the changes mandated by the HITECH Act of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 and the latest HHS regulations through March 2011. Just a few of the new or changed policies include the new Breach policies, Business Associate policies, Inappropriate Access policies and Rights to Request a Restriction changes as well as others.

Dental Radiation Manual - $325 – a $50 savings plus extras

• Electronic copies of the sections of the manual that need to be customized.
• The first years updates at no charge.

The NC Radiology Compliance Branch will inspect every dental location once every three years. Additionally they have changed the requirements for documentation of your Radiation Safety Program. Each office must have a customized plan that reflects your office practices. The old model plan will not be acceptable.

The TMC customized Radiation Manual for Dental Practices contains Safe Work Practices & Polices as required by NC Radiation Laws to provide training and instruction to healthcare workers who work with X-rays in the dental office. TMC has done most of the work for you in documenting your program.

TMC is registered with the NC Radiology Branch to provide this service to dental practices in NC. The manual was reviewed by the NC Radiology Compliance Branch for compliance.

Read more and/or order your OSHA, HIPAA and Radiation Safety manuals.

Check back frequently for new discounts and promotions!

 (TMC Guide to Coupon Codes for NCDS Members)

Benefits of Being a TMC Client

TMC clients enjoy the piece of mind of knowing they are in compliance when they use TMC programs. They know trained professionals in Client Services are there every day to provide guidance and help quickly when it is needed by phone or email.

Read more about TMC turnkey compliance programs. TMC programs include training, manuals, inspections and support.

Additionally TMC adds value in a number of other ways, saving money and time for our clients:

• Free Federal and State Posters
• Chemical labels for products not in the original containers as required by OSHA
• Providing reduced cost electronic MSDS manuals
• Convenient online programs to minimize lost patient time
• And more.

Join the TMC family of clients. Call Client Services for information or to sign up.

With all of the regulatory changes and new laws, it helps to have an expert helping you keep abreast of the changes. Call TMC for a cost effective solution for your compliance needs.

We free you to focus on patients, not compliance.

Glutaraldehyde – Safe Use & Spill Cleanup

Glutaraldehydes are used in healthcare settings most often to high-level disinfect semi-critical medical devices that are not heat tolerant and thus cannot be placed in an autoclave.

It is important to know how to use glutaraldehyde solutions effectively to ensure items are safe for use on the patient. In addition, it is equally important to know how to use glutaraldehydes safely to prevent personnel and patient exposure to the solution and vapors as glutaraldehyde is a skin, eye, and respiratory irritant. Read more about glutaraldehyde use and clean-up in the event of a spill as well as what OSHA has to say about the safe use of glutaraldehyde.

Read more . . .

Authorizations

Disclosure of protected health information (PHI) without proper patient authorization and/or releasing information when an authorization form does not meet the regulatory requirements are in the top 5 complaint reasons received by Office for Civil Rights (OCR).  Often practices do not realize their authorization process is in violation of the regulation until they receive a patient complaint from the OCR or hear from an angry patient.

Some practices are using a consent process that was replaced in 2003 when the more formal authorization form was adopted.  Practices may allow the patient to list others the practice may talk to about patient PHI in a way that is no longer acceptable. Now even more changes are being made as a result of the HITECH Act and subsequent regulations to implement the law. It is a good time to review the old and new requirements.

Read more about Authorizations (Word doc)

Read more about Authorizations (pdf)

Mercury – Spill Prevention & Cleanup

Mercury can be found in a variety of items such as fever thermometers, thermostats, sphygmomanometers, dental amalgam and irons. Breathing mercury vapors can be very dangerous. Small children and pregnant women are at highest risk for mercury poisoning, but mercury poisoning can impact anyone.

Take immediate action to clean-up a spill. Read more on the correct way to clean-up a spill and dispose of the mercury to protect patients, employees and the environment.

Read more on spills and cleanup (Word doc)

Read more on spills and cleanup (pdf)

Better yet, start now to eliminate Mercury from the office to prevent a possible spill. When it is not possible to eliminate Mercury altogether, take action to store and dispose of it properly. Read more on storage and disposal.

Proper Decontamination of Instruments – Are You Following the Correct Steps?

Recently there has been a flurry of media focus on the lack of basic infection control practices in ambulatory care. When the situations have been further investigated, one of the items associated with possible transmission of hep B, hep C, and HIV was the lack of adequate disinfection or sterilization of equipment used to provide patient care. Be sure your practice is following the appropriate guidelines for the proper disinfection or sterilization of instruments. The last thing that you want is to be on the evening news!

Read more about the proper decontamination of instruments…

Dental Infection Control Guidelines

The CDC, working with other authorities on infection control,  developed guidelines for Infection Control in Dental settings. This report consolidates recommendations for preventing and controlling infectious diseases and managing personnel health and safety concerns related to infection control in dental settings. This 2003 report 1) updates and revises previous CDC recommendations regarding infection control in dental settings; 2) incorporates relevant infection-control measures from other CDC guidelines; and 3) discusses concerns not addressed in previous recommendations for dentistry.

You can refer to the recommendations from the report to assist you with any aspect of Infection Control. The full report provides the background and evidence as to why this recommendation was made. Of course, there have been updates since 2003 and you can attend one of the TMC Infection Control seminars or webinars to obtain the latest information.

 How Would You Manage an Exposure Event?Although rare in a dental office, an exposure to blood or bloody saliva requires fast action on the part of many people in the practice. This is truly an example of the need for preplanning and education of all staff at risk.Just as a review, the potential routes of exposure include:

• Stick with a contaminated needle.
• Stick with a contaminated sharp object, for example, scalers, surgical instruments, and scalpel blades.
• Splash to the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, mouth.
• Splash to non-intact skin.

While prevention should be at the top or your priority list, once the exposure occurs the clock literally starts ticking. Employees MUST know the correct measures to take and how and to whom to report the incident.  Your practice should have a health care provider identified in advance who can provide testing of your worker and the source patient.

Read more about managing an exposure event in a dental office…

Download the form – Post Exposure Medical Evaluation

Total Medical Compliance is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider