Florida Dental Group

Dental health care activities have become one of the major investment fields by most of the private organizations and learning institutions across the world. Dental practice management models help in the provision of opportunity for the managers of the dental companies to form joint ventures with other businesses for effective dental management services (Stahl, 2004). The dental health care organization usually performs administrative roles, as well as management roles, in the field of dental practices that allows some of the best dentist to focus on caring for the patients. The administration of the dental organization often receives fees in return for the service rendered to the patient.
Dental care organizations have become one of the most substantial investment opportunities as seen by many private equity firms; this is evidenced by the increasing number of the dental health care facilities in the recent years. Dental health organizations’ structure regularly provides economics of scale to the owners that were deemed unachievable in the long run. The case study in this paper will be dental health care facility owned by the Florida state university, and it will examine how the service is managed, regulations set to govern its operations, and its importance to the people living in Florida.

Section A

Background

Florida dental health care owned by The University of Florida College of Dentistry is one of the largest dental organizations that offer low-cost dental care services to a large number of needy residents leaving around Florida state. The latest data shows that 70 percent of the patients that use this dental care facility live below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Besides the provision of reduced fee dental care to the surrounding population, this organization also houses several community outreach programs in the field of dental health care, as well as the provision of financial assistance, to assist the advance incidence of dental problems. The organization also participates in charity activities around the Florida state.

Location

The facility is located at the University of Florida in the United States. The organization was founded about 160 years ago and continues to play very many roles towards dental health care in Florida. For instance, this group offers dental plans that help provision of dental care to various people enrolled in the program. The program is essential since it helps people to contribute the little cash into a common pull. The money collected will be directly reimbursed to those who enrolled in the plan by the organization management upon request by an individual. The facility has the vision of becoming internationally recognized in dental services through the innovative education program and showing commitment to cultural diversity among the people. Also, the organization emphasizes on discoveries in the field of dental services, transfer of scientific knowledge, and superior skills to the group graduates in the provision of world-class dental services (Mansueto, 2002).

Mission

The mission of this organization is to achieve excellence in the field of dentist science through teaching, research, and provision of dental services to the surrounding population.

Roles of the organization

The Florida Dental group plays the vital role to the surrounding people and the entire federal state of Florida. Some of the functions the facility performs are discussed below (Mansueto, 2002).

• Education's services. The organization plays a significant role in training and educating the future dentist and dental specialist through 16 degrees, certificates, and diploma courses registered in the college of dentistry. At the beginning of ever year, the college admits approximately 80 students to be trained as dentists, some of the students trained in this organization have become the best dentist in the nation which results in the growth of the organization. Education services offered by the Florida dental organization under the Florida state university ensures availability of dentist and dental specialist in the nation, hence, promoting dental health care activities in Florida.
• Research services. The team participates in the generation of new ideas and knowledge, as well as training academic personnel by diversifying of the primary clinical research portfolio.  The organization also develop new clinical translational research initiatives and has established strong interdisciplinary collaborations within and outside the university that has resulted in productive research, thus, promoting the interaction and exchange of ideas with top world dental schools (Stahl, 2004).
• Patient care services. The Florida dental care organization championed better patient care services, as well as community outreach programs, by implementing statewide community oral health care; the college also has improved accessibility of dental care to the people living in Florida with the focus on vulnerable people and those with disabilities. Florida dental care organization is one of the low-cost dental care providers in the United States. Students and faculty of dentistry provide free dental treatment services to the underserved population during the community clinics organized by the management of the organization as part of cooperate social responsibility to the surrounding population.

Organization Structure

The organization is managed by the college governing board. Under the council, there are also key leaders, such as the University vice chancellor who is responsible for all the faculty at the University (Mansueto, 2002). College of Dentistry is managed by the Dean and there are also other various departments in this faculty that are administered by various heads of departments. Organization of the management of this facility plays the vital role towards the success and expansion of the facility.

The various departments under the Faculty of Dentistry are as follows: Department of Conservative Dentistry and Prosthetics, Department of Community. The college also has Departments of Preventive Dentistry and Periodontology, Department of Dental Clinical Services, Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics. Finally, there are departments such as for of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Medicine/Oral Pathology and Radiology, and finally Department of Oral Biology/Anatomy/Physiology and Biochemistry.

In the organization structure, there are also other key leaders that play the vital role in the management and running of the organization. These leaders include quality assurance manager, risk compliance manager, finance director, human resource manager, and ICT managers among other key stakeholders in the management of the organization

Section B

Methods of Handling Risks

• Compliance risks (false claim, fraud, failure to pay taxes, non-compliance with HIPAA regulations). There are numerous compliance risks that this organization is exposed to which include false claims, fraud abuse, non-compliance with antitrust laws, failure to pay taxes on time, and non-compliance with HIPAA standards. Appropriate strategies, such as educating all the medical practitioners on the importance of compliance with the set regulations by institutions such as HIPAA and government, should be initiated as soon as possible so that the institution is protected from lawsuits that are costly. All the taxes must also be paid appropriately to prevent tainting of the overall organization image. Engaging in fraud offenses is a serious offense; fraud can arise in various forms, for instance, the staff leaks patients’ information for personal gain, or the organization exploits patients financially with the intention of making a lot of profits. Coming up with internal rule and regulation can help employees to operate within the law.
• Other risks. In the process of treating the patients with dental problems, a dentist exposes themselves to various risks, such as contracting the infectious disease from the patients being treated, the patients may be having blood borne diseases or active tuberculosis. In the case of patients with blood-borne infection diseases, the students and the faculty are obliged to provide to treatment to them without discrimination (Ayer, 2012). For example, patients with HIV/AIDs should be treated in case he has a dental problem, and the person handling the patient must have proper safety clothes and ensure proper disposal of surgical materials after the treatment as required by the organization's heads. In the case of the patients suffering from active tuberculosis, the students and the faculty should not administer any treatment until the medical examination reveals that the status of the tuberculosis is no longer dangerous as this will prevent them from contracting this infectious disease. Also, people observed to have complicated medical conditions, complex dental care needs, and rigid time frame may also not be admitted to the dental care facility due to its worse state. Finally, people with temporary conditions that are likely to interfere with dental treatment processes are also not allowed in the facility as part of the precaution measures.
• Compliance risks in the organization. Florida dental care organization has a compliance risk management program that enables them to identify the potential threats that may affect the operation of the organization. And help the management to determine methods in which the organization will manage the risks based on the strategic measures they intend to put in places to manage the adverse risks they face.

The organization is registered and licensed by the division of medical quality assurance under the department of health in the vast state of Florida (Sullivan, 2005). As a licensed institution, the organization is in compliance with taxation regulations. The board of management plays the vital role in ensuring that the organization complies with tax requirements, such as filling the organization annual returns, applying for the renewal of the licenses in case of expiry, and also paying the license fee after meeting the required conditions for the license application.
Florida dental care hospital is also exposed to the risk of fraud and abuses by local people who aim at stealing from the public with the pretense of being qualified and trained dentists. To manage such risks, the organization has outlined set of rules for registration and licensing of qualified dentists. For one to apply for the license, he or she should file an appropriate application approved by the board and pay the license fee, the person should also not have been convicted in the court of law and has to submit proof graduation certificate from a school accredited by the Commission in American dental association.

He or she must also submit proofs of successful completion of required level of education for registration; he or she must also provide proofs for completion of part I and part II of the examination offered by the board. The person must possess a valid, active dental license that has not been restricted or revoked from other state and has not failed in the specified examination. Finally, he or she must pass the exam that covers the laws and regulation of practicing dentistry in the Florida State.

An individual accused of fraud can be deregistered under conditions such as being convicted or found guilty as outlined in Chapter 409 of federal state laws that relates to economics and social assistance. Also, he or she must have been terminated for cause from the Florida dental organization for not being good in relation to the medical programs. Finally, an individual should not be listed on the United States Department health and human services in the list of excluded members to practice dentistry (Montague, Kimbler, Bhattacharyya, Isyutina, & Islam, 2014).

In cases of risks of abuse, the board has powers to revoke the license from the person issued with it. The other conditions for revoking the licenses by the board may be a result of the termination of the employment of the owner upon violation of the regulation or failure in the Florida dental examination (Ayer, 2012).

Part C

Management Exposure

• Incident reporting system. Management also has spelled out the protocol for dentist exposed to the risk of needle stick as they perform their duties. Needle stick exposure can transmit infectious pathogen to the blood of the dentist. The exposed personnel are required to stop the procedure that he or she was undertaking and clean his skin with antibacterial soap in case the risks occur. They are also expected to tell the attending faculty about the incidence; the faculty can be of importance to bring the operation to closure. They should also call the needle stick hotline numbers availed by the management. All the external parties, such as patients, will also have a chance to give their feedback about the quality of services they receive. This will ensure that all incidences of frauds are timely reported before they go out of hand.
• Root cause. To determine the root cause of all matters that arise, a thorough investigation has to be initiated so that all the findings can be reliable. For instance, the management set legislation addresses the concern of the injured personnel which has the provision of medical healthcare to include a licensed or certified health care professional. The organization also has published guidelines for the dentist exposed to risks of being infected by infectious diseases and recommends the post-exposure prophylaxis to dentist exposed to such a risk (Sullivan, 2005). The method mainly adopted by the Florida dental care organization is route cause analysis of the risks and publish measures of mitigating the risk. For example, in the recent years, management has issued public service guidelines for the doctors exposed to Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C which serves as the basis for post-exposure management for mucous membrane and percutaneous exposures within the organization (Stahl, 2004).

The responsible faculty will discuss the event of the exposure with the victim patient and provide the explanation to the University of Florida. The relevant authority will give the feedback of the description of the incidence and also the history of the source patient. Finally, the recommendation will be made of the mitigation measures based on the results of the undertaken tastes by the laboratory department. The organization also have the guideline that helps in reducing the risk of exposure to latex and glove powders, control of infection referred to as the clinical protocol. The clinical protocol covers activities such as laboratory protocol, dental assistance responsibilities clean up, operators clean up, dental procedures, operator set up, and surface disinfection. Organization management also has guidelines for management for extra teeth.

Section D

Accreditation and Regulation of Florida Dental Care Organization

Joint commissions, AAAASF, and NQF. Florida dental care organization is accredited and regulated by the joint commission, the AAAASF, and NQF. The Joint Commissions monitors the operation of this health facility and ensures that they are in line with the state regulations governing dental services (Ayer, 2012). The AAAASF, on the other hand, is responsible for maintaining the highest standards in the accreditation of outpatients. The NQF is responsible for improving the quality of healthcare. Members of this institution include certification bodies, nurses, physicians, hospitals, and fellow quality improvement.

The type of service falls under the category of the disease-specific unit. For accreditation and regulation, the organization has to ensure that they include emergency receiving facilities that are certified. Also, they should have both comprehensive stroke centers and acute stroke-ready all the time. Florida dental care organization should also have proper facilities for dental surgery with provision of anesthesia medicines to be used during the surgical operations.

On the regulation of dental practices in the Florida dental care organization, various rules govern the behaviors and conduct of the dentist, as well as management of the patients. For example, the management requires that all patients are managed in a manner that preserves their dignity, and information about their condition should be confident to the dentist (Montague, Kimbler, Bhattacharyya, Isyutina, & Islam, 2014).

Section E

Role of Compliance Officer

Risk officer of the Florida dental care organization plays the role of conduction of various assessment in the organization and implementation procedure for risks mitigation. Risk officer also performs a role of monitoring risk-based, management of risk-based regulatory examination in the organization, preparations of various risks profile, and finally devise and implement strategies for mitigation of all the risks that Florida dental care team is facing (Ward, 2001).

Relationship between Compliance Officer and Board of Management

Board of management plays the role that relates to the functions that are performed by the company risk manager in an organization. Some of the roles that board of managements performs include determination of company policies that is also performed by the compliance director. Management of the organization plays a role in determining the values to be promoted within the company as part of meeting the organizational goal (Ward, 2001).

Both risk manager and board of management play a standard role in setting the organization strategy and structure. Under this role, the management evaluates the present and the future opportunities and the various risks that affect the organization from the external environment, they also evaluate current and future strengths and the possible company weakness.
Also, the board of management and the compliance manager play a familiar role in ensuring that the company structure and capability can support the implementation of the chosen strategies by the Florida dental care organizations. Finally, both management and compliance manager play a role in determining the strategic options to be pursued in a group and decide on the means of supporting and implementing the chosen strategies.

In conclusion, board of management plays a role in exercising accountability and responsibilities to the shareholders of the Florida dental organization through the promotion of goodwill and provision of support services and ensuring efficient communication between the various shareholders in the group (Ward, 2001).

References

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Mansueto, M. (2002). Presented at the annual session of the American College of Prosthodontists, Orlando, Florida, November 6-10, 2002. Journal of Prosthodontics Implant, Esthetic And Reconstructive Dentistry, 11(4), 328-339. http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/jpro.2002.0110328

Montague, L., Kimbler, K., Bhattacharyya, I., Isyutina, O., & Islam, M. (2014). Interest and knowledge of florida dentists and university of florida college of dentistry students about oral soft tissue biopsy and biopsy techniques. Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology, 118(6), e197. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.oooo.2014.05.111

Proceedings of the 19th annual Veterinary Dental Forum & World Veterinary Dental Congress IX. (2005). Nashville, TN.

Smalley, J. (2011). Leadership characteristics and practices of selected high-performing nonprofit organizations in Northeast Florida.

Stahl, M. (2004). Encyclopedia of health care management. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.

Sullivan, G. (2005). Compliance with professional standards to enhance patient safety. The Case Manager, 16(3), 30-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.casemgr.2005.04.004

Ward, M. (2001). HIPAA compliance with Novell and PricewaterhouseCoopers' integrated solution. The Case Manager, 12(4), 31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1067/mcm.2001.11