News
Covert recording risks flagged up
LEGISLATION
There’s a warning to dentists that the law offers little or no protection from patients covertly recording consulta- tions. Patients are within their rights to record consultations and could use the informa- tion obtained to challenge their dentist’s actions. The increasing use of smartphones makes it easier for patients wishing to secretly record a dental appointment and UK-wide dental defence organisation MDDUS advises dentists to keep clear, comprehensive and accurate records of consultations so they can justify their actions in court if necessary.
“A dentist might think a patient would require their permission to record a consultation and that any recording made covertly was illegal,” says MDDUS dental adviser Rachael Bell.
“However, this is not the case. When a patient seeks a consultation with a dentist, the information being processed is almost exclusively relating to the patient.
“Under the Data Protection Act, that data is therefore personal to the patient. By recording it, that patient is merely viewed as processing their own data.”
It is likely that any recording would be covered by section 36 of the Data Protection Act, which states that: “Personal data processed by an individual only for the purposes of that individual’s personal, family or household affairs (including recreational purposes) are exempt from the data protection principles”.
® For full details of the GMC guidance, click on the link
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“It is likely that any recording would be covered by section 36 of
the Data Protection Act” Rachael Bell, MDDUD adviser
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British Bite Mark launch
NHS and private dental patients in the UK are being offered the opportunity to find out where their new crown, implant, denture or veneer was made. It follows the launch of the ‘British Bite Mark’ by the Dental Labora- tories Association aimed at reassuring patients that their appliance meets the UK regu- latory requirements.
A significant number of UK dentists have been sending prescriptions to dental labo-
ratories in the Far East to help reduce overheads, rather than using the traditional route of dental laboratories in the UK. The Dental Laboratories Asso- ciation has had a logo designed that it says will help inform patients that their dental appli- ance has been manufactured in the UK and meets its regulatory requirements.
Richard Daniels, Chief Exec- utive of the Association, said: “Sourcing crowns, bridges, dentures and veneers from dental laboratories in the Far East just to save money isn’t acceptable without making the patient aware.”
New iPhone app for drug prescribing
An iPhone app to help support drug prescribing in primary care dental practice has been launched by the Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP). The Dental Prescribing
app, which is also available on iTunes to download for iPad and iPod touch, provides mobile access to the latest information compiled by the British National Formulary (BNF) and BNF for Chil- dren (BNFC). Based on the popular Drug Prescribing for Dentistry guid- ance produced by SDCEP, the app gives advice on the manage- ment of a range of dental conditions in an easy to use, problem-oriented style.
Drug regimens are
displayed in a ‘prescription- like’ format to aid prescribing for both adults and children in primary care and, for the first time, are linked to the BNF website for information on drug interactions. Advice on the manage- ment of medical emergencies,
18 Scottish Dental magazine
including drug administra- tion, is also provided. Professor Jan Clarkson,
director of SDCEP, said: “This novel guidance format allows dental professionals to access up-to-date information on dental prescribing from their mobile devices and to link to the appropriate drug interac- tion information on the BNF website.” Dr David
Felix, dean for postgraduate dental educa- tion at NES,
said: “This new way of delivering prescribing guid- ance will appeal to many in the dental profession and will build on the success, popularity and useful- ness of the printed
guidance. By promoting the development of new thinking and facilitating the adoption of evidence-based practice, SDCEP’s work continues to make an important contribu- tion to the modernisation of dental services.”
® For further information, visit
www.scottishdental.org/cep
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