JCDA - Canadian Dental Association
JCDA - Canadian Dental Association
JCDA - Canadian Dental Association
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CDA: Year in Review<br />
and family members in their employ. CDA also recommends<br />
that dentists and other self-employed individuals be<br />
given the opportunity to withdraw funds without penalty<br />
from RRSP savings in order to facilitate maternity leave.”<br />
Dr. Dubé then brought forward the issue of child care.<br />
“Since women remain the primary family caregivers in our<br />
society, the ability for women dentists to return to and stay<br />
active in their professional careers largely depends on the<br />
availability of quality child care. Many professionals choose<br />
home child care, since it offers greater flexibility. However,<br />
because of a 1989 legal decision, small business owners are<br />
prevented from adding child care providers to their payrolls.<br />
The ability to do so would allow dentists to pay child care<br />
workers better wages, thus improving the financial situation<br />
for another group of female entrepreneurs. It would<br />
also encourage female dentists to employ high-quality<br />
child care, and thus return to work more quickly and<br />
comfortably.” ■<br />
Changes to Standard<br />
<strong>Dental</strong> Claim Form<br />
CDA is working closely with the <strong>Canadian</strong> Life &<br />
Health Insurance <strong>Association</strong> (CLHIA) to ensure<br />
that dentists’ submissions of requests for advance<br />
confirmation of coverage comply with privacy legislation.<br />
During these consultations with the insurance industry,<br />
some insurers raised concerns about releasing information<br />
directly to the dentist, instead of returning it to the patient<br />
during the predetermination process.<br />
In practice, most carriers return the results of a predetermination<br />
to the dentist. This expedites the treatment<br />
process, allowing the dentist to review the results of the<br />
predetermination with the patient in a timely manner.<br />
However, a few insurers are sending predetermination<br />
results to the patient, rather than to the dentist. This practice<br />
impedes the flow of information and can delay the<br />
decision-making process, says Ákos Hoffer, CDA’s manager<br />
of practice services.<br />
Responding to the insurance industry’s concerns, CDA<br />
has amended the standard dental claim form to include the<br />
patient’s signed consent, authorizing benefits providers to<br />
return the results of predeterminations directly to the<br />
dentist. The new wording has been approved by CLHIA.<br />
CDA asks all dentists to replace their existing forms with<br />
the new ones, which will be available on the CDA Web site<br />
or by contacting CDA directly.<br />
CDA expects that the new claim form will address the<br />
needs of the entire insurance industry, Mr. Hoffer states.<br />
However, in the event that insurers persist in refusing to<br />
send predetermination results to dentists, members are<br />
650 November 2003, Vol. 69, No. 10<br />
urged to notify CDA by e-mail at practice_support@cdaadc.ca,<br />
so that appropriate action can be taken.<br />
A parallel change was made earlier to the CDAnet<br />
consent form to address the privacy issue.<br />
For more information, e-mail practice-services@cdaadc.ca.<br />
■<br />
CDA: 2002-03 Marked by Significant Achievements<br />
continued from 643<br />
professional matters and financial concerns,”<br />
Dr. Breneman related. “We were generously received,<br />
listened to and queried. It is clear that our messages are<br />
gaining profile as we build on them from year to year,<br />
and that awareness of dental issues on Parliament Hill<br />
has grown as a result.”<br />
In May, CDA co-hosted a successful joint convention<br />
with the Alberta <strong>Dental</strong> <strong>Association</strong> & College.<br />
“We enjoyed good meetings in beautiful surroundings,<br />
with record numbers of participants from Alberta,”<br />
Dr. Breneman observed.<br />
CDA raised its media profile significantly this past<br />
year. “The number and quality of stories we’re seeing<br />
in print and on the airwaves reflect a growing awareness<br />
of the importance of oral health,” Dr. Breneman<br />
noted. “I grew quite accustomed to giving interviews<br />
on short notice. In addition to the many newspaper<br />
and radio interviews in which we were asked to<br />
comment, we also made a number of proactive forays<br />
into the media world, including the National Post oral<br />
health supplement and a series of oral health segments<br />
on Global TV’s Body & Health program. We look at<br />
each of these successes as stepping-stones in our quest<br />
for greater visibility and more opportunities to get our<br />
messages across to the public.<br />
“We’ve also stepped up the efforts in communicating<br />
to our own public,” Dr. Breneman continued.<br />
“Members received CDAlerts via e-mail this year on<br />
time-sensitive information such as the SARS (Severe<br />
Acute Respiratory Syndrome) epidemic, the <strong>Dental</strong><br />
<strong>Association</strong> of Canada fraud and the global consent<br />
initiative. All this information was critical to CDA<br />
members’ day-to-day dental practice. <strong>JCDA</strong> and<br />
Communiqué are continuously improving, and this<br />
past year saw the launch of <strong>Dental</strong> Teamwork, a new<br />
publication aimed at getting important information<br />
into the hands of staff within the dental office.”<br />
Summing up, Dr. Breneman noted that 2002-03<br />
will go down as one of the most productive years in<br />
CDA’s recent history. ■<br />
Journal of the <strong>Canadian</strong> <strong>Dental</strong> <strong>Association</strong>