In addition to statewide data, FPHI also broke down the number of visits and charges for each of Florida’s 67 counties, including visits by hospital and by payor source.

Media interested in localizing this national issue may retrieve the Florida report and county-level information by visiting www.oralhealthflorida.com – or by contacting Martha Kurth Harbin at mharbin@policywisdom.com or (850) 251-2803.

About The Florida Public Health Institute:
The Florida Public Health Institute (FPHI), a free standing private non-profit organization, is currently funded by six regional and national foundations and/or organizations. The mission of the Institute is to “advance the knowledge and practice of public health to promote, protect and improve the health of all.”

FPHI accomplishes this by promoting improvements in health through health education, health policy, evaluating the health workforce, and applied research. Research on the ER data was supported through a grant from the DentaQuest Foundation.

More information: http://www.oralhealthflorida.com .

News Source: Florida Public Health Institute :: This press release was issued on behalf of the news source by Send2Press® Newswire, a service of Neotrope®. View all current news at: http://Send2PressNewswire.com .

Besides offering state-of-the-art, on-site, medical services and specialists, Spodak Dental Group is focused on enhancing the relationship between the patient and health care provider. “I get to do what I love every day. I am honored to have been selected as a finalist with such exceptional healthcare organizations as University of Miami and the Cleveland Clinic. We have worked very hard to ensure that our commitment to the community and our patients is at the forefront of everything we do. It is always incredibly humbling to be recognized for following your passion and see that recognition put you in the company of such leaders,” said Dr. Craig Spodak.

The excellence at Spodak Dental Group can be attributed to two distinct beliefs. In order to be the best, you must work with the best and create an atmosphere where people love coming to work. To attract the caliber of physicians that Spodak needed to build this practice he realized he would have to completely revolutionize the perception of what a dental office should be. The perks of employment that attribute to the positive energy in the office are numerous; a massage room, a meditation area, company wide trips to Costa Rica, matching donations to employee selected charities. While this ensures that employee morale is high, and employee turnover almost non-existent, the true excellence is found in the organizational approach to growth and leadership.

Spodak Dental Group employees meet for daily morning classes. These classes focus on unique cases, new procedures, organizational growth and personal and professional development. Classes are facilitated by different teammates and industry experts are brought in to ensure that the staff is consistently working together to contribute to what is expected from the Spodak brand.

Spodak patients have become accustomed to thinking of dental care as much more than a reactive service. Dr. Spodak practices medicine with the intention of getting every patient to the point of optimal long-term health. The Spodak staff believes that it is their primary focus to develop and nurture ongoing, sustainable relationships with their patients and the community. Providing dental services that are affordable to the entire community is a key component of the Spodak philosophy.

“We believe that every patient should be able to receive quality dental care. Our decision to integrate leading dental professionals into our practice has allowed us to provide an unparalleled level of patient care at prices that are not seen in this industry,” says Kim Gallo, patient care coordinator.

Spodak Dental Group is consistently looking for ways to elevate the consumer experience. They have recently committed to a social strategy that will foster transparency and give patients the opportunity to engage with the Spodak team. “We want to ensure that our patients are able to communicate in a method that is convenient for them. We believe that this platform will allow us to keep our patients and community up-to-date with the latest news and events in addition to allowing us to listen to our patients as they share valuable information,” added Dr. Spodak.

If you would like more information on Spodak Dental Group, visit the website www.spodakdental.com or connect with them on Facebook at facebook.com/SpodakDental.

Media Contact:
Terra Spero – Spodak Dental Group
561-613-1510
terra@realtimemg.com .

News Source: Spodak Dental Group :: This press release was issued on behalf of the news source by Send2Press® Newswire, a service of Neotrope®. View all current news at: http://Send2PressNewswire.com .

myDentalScore generates scores for gum disease risk and severity, oral cancer risk and restorative risk and needs based on answers to a simple health questionnaire. Reports graphically display the numeric scores and provide valuable systemic health information related to oral health status. The expected result will be increased awareness of oral health needs and better compliance with dentist recommendations.

PreViser CEO Carl Loeb noted, “myDentalScore will allow an individual to understand their likely oral health care needs, encouraging them to visit a dentist, as well as make possible the objective determination of needs and costs of providing dental care to large employee or insured groups.”

The company is offering two versions of the utility. The “Dentist edition” is designed to be hosted on dentist Web sites to help patients better understand their care needs. This edition includes easy to use tools allowing the application to be customized for a particular practice. The “Enterprise edition” is offered to dental insurance companies, large employers, disease management companies and non-profit organizations that have an interest in promoting oral health. Visitors to Enterprise instances of the tool will be able to locate a PreViser capable dentist by zip code who can clinically validate their self-assessed results.

The company believes that wide spread use of Enterprise instances of myDentalScore will be a powerful new patient generator for participating dental practices.

According to PreViser, the utility will be distributed at nominal cost. A one-time setup and registration fee of $50.00 will be charged for both the Dentist and Enterprise editions. Dentists using PreViser’s evidence based clinical technology will pay no other fees beyond setup. Non PreViser dentists will be able to post myDentalScore.com to their practice Web sites for as low as $8.00 per month.

Loeb stated “PreViser’s corporate mission is to increase the awareness of oral disease and the importance of the clinical professional in enhancing health. With this new utility, we can help patients understand their oral health with objective numeric scores, and bring those patients to dentists who can provide optimum care.”

More information: www.mydentalscore.com.

News Source: PreViser Corporation :: This press release was issued on behalf of the news source by Send2Press® Newswire, a service of Neotrope®.

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STORY REFERENCES: PreViser Corporation Launches myDentalScore.com, myDentalScore, CEO Carl Loeb, oral disease risk and severity, previser, Oral disease, Dentists, software, SaaS, Web, dental, my Dental Score, dental insurance companies, large employers, disease management companies and non-profit organizations, HR, employers

DENVER, Colo., May 27 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — A victim of identity theft himself in late 2008, Denver dentist Dr. Miles B. Collett this spring implemented a patient data security solution by Denver-based idBUSINESS (www.idbusiness.com). The solution, which ensures the protection of personal information and guarantees complete restoration of “prior to event” status in the event of a patient data breach protects both his approximately 750 patients and his 25-year practice from the impact of identity theft.

For Dr. Collett’s dental practice, identity theft protection is both a patient care priority and a business management imperative. Although the FTC recently postponed its enforcement of the “Red Flag Rules” identity theft provisions added to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA), it continues to warn consumers and remind businesses that they must advise their customers when data records are compromised. (ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/business/asssiting-victims.html)

Understanding that dental practices are vulnerable targets for identity theft criminals, Dr. Collett was motivated to protect his patients from an experience he had seen firsthand. According to Dr. Collett, the “eye-opening” realization of the risk to his patients, more than potential FTC enforcement, made him take steps.

He also understood that his failure to comply with the FTC identity theft requirements would create a substantial liability for his dental practice – including potential FTC fines, additional state penalties where statutes have been enacted, and consumer-driven legal actions. He realized that legal practices would pounce on the fees and awards generated from adjudication of consumer suits against non-compliant businesses – medical and dental practices, especially.

Consider the risks and consequences for a non-compliant 750-patient dental practice under enforcement of the FACTA identity theft mandate. Whether due to information breach or FTC discovery, the following applies:

* $1,000.00 penalty per account held (a patient file is a single account) – $750,000;
* Non-compliance will become a matter of public record;
* State authorities will be notified as applicable.

Through his relationship with the Metro Denver Dental Society (www.mddsdentist.com), Dr. Collett learned that dentists who provide FTC compliant identity theft protection sidestep this disaster. Since idBUSINESS has been endorsed by the MDDS as the recommended Red Flag Rules solutions provider for its members, he selected that solution to secure his practice against a broad spectrum of potential patient data and information breaches

“In addition to the nuts and bolts of being in compliance with the FTC, which is more or less common sense, we’ve made a lot of changes in our business software and have been implementing step-by-step processes to improve office security,” said Dr. Collett.

Today, Dr. Collett is concerned for his peers, who he fears are not “tuned in” to the imminent identity theft risks to their practice and to their patients, nor to the impact of FTC enforcement.

“I understand the mindset of other dentists in practice for themselves, and that it is easy to minimize identity theft as a business threat or a patient care issue,” he explained. “It is low on their list of priorities, which is unfortunate because if and when a patient data breach occurs, we are by law responsible.”

When vetting Red Flag Rules compliance solutions, look for firms that are willing, and able, to provide access to individual identity theft protection and reactive data breach services. It will reassure patients to understand that their dentist’s identity theft protocol is patient-centered, and that an identity theft policy can guarantee full recovery to pre-theft status, saving an individual up to 130 working hours and $1,800 in out-of-pocket costs.

About idBUSINESS

idBUSINESS is the standard Information Security operating system for small- to mid-sized businesses. It provides information security planning tools that identify needs, assess risks, comply with the law, and secure an organization’s data.

idBUSINESS is powered by two leading firms in information security, ID Experts, the nation’s leader in date breach prevention and remediation services, and Net Reaction, providers of forensics and information security planning products and services. To learn more, please visit www.idBUSINESS.com.

All trademarks and service marks are the property of the respective parties.

News Source: idBUSINESS :: This press release was issued by Send2Press® and is Copyright © 2009 Neotrope® News Network – all rights reserved.

DENVER, Colo., April 28 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — idBUSINESS (www.idBUSINESS.com), a Denver-based identity theft security expert and identity recovery services provider today became the preferred provider of the Metro Denver Dental Society (mddsdentist.com) (MDDS) for the provision of “Red Flag Rules” compliance solutions to its more than 1,500 members.

In February 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) explicitly included healthcare practices in mandatory compliance requirements related to identity theft provisions added to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA). Following months of discussion regarding the applicability of FACTA regulations to healthcare providers already compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the FTC stated “health care professionals are covered by the Rule when they regularly defer payment for goods or services.”

“MDDS and its members are concerned for the safety of patients, and their families, whose personal information is as much under our care as their dental health,” said Terri Gilpin, MDDS executive director. “We wanted to go beyond the American Dental Association’s (ADA’s) Red Flag Rules guidance to offer our members a solution that included tools for employee training and vendor assessment, both of which are critical to any program’s success.”

“idBUSINESS has clearly demonstrated its information security expertise, its capabilities related to compliance with FTC requirements and its commitment to protecting our members and their patients,” Gilpin added. “We have confidence in their ability to serve our members.”

A component of the American Dental Association (ADA), MDDS represents approximately 82 percent of all the licensed dentists in the Denver metropolitan area. The MDDS is committed to supporting the highest ethical practice of dentistry and to being the indispensable source of dental health education and community service in the Denver metropolitan area.

“As a by-product of the identity theft plague, dental practices are now required to protect their patients’ identity information or face significant financial penalties,” said idBUSINESS president Scott Sax. “Specifically, dentists that offer credit/payment terms to their patients are categorized as creditors under FACTA, and as such must comply with its provisions.”

“Enforcement of this law is imminent, making it advisable for dental practices to seek an immediate solution, since there is no ‘opting out,’” Sax added.

According to idBUSINESS, under the FACTA identity theft mandate, if a dentist with a patient roster of 200 is discovered to be non compliant whether due to information breach or FTC discovery, the following penalty will apply:

* $1,000.00 per account held (a patient file is a single account) – $200,000;
* Non-compliance will become a matter of public record;
* State authorities will be notified as applicable.

“An ideal Red Flag Rule compliance solution is built on real world forensic and information security experiences, allowing it to address both the spirit and the letter of the law,” explained Sax. “Dentists can expect to begin meeting the requirements of the law within one hour if they select a vendor with that capability. Upon satisfying the requirements, the vendor should enable dentists to download their own custom Red Flag Compliance plan.”

When vetting possible providers of Red Flag Rules compliance solutions, idBUSINESS recommends dentists select one that is willing, and able, to provide access to individual identity theft protection and reactive data breach services. It will reassure patients when they understand that their dentist’s identity theft protocol is patient-centric, and that an id theft policy can guarantee full recovery to pre-theft status, while saving an individual up to 130 working hours and $1,800 in out-of-pocket costs.

About idBUSINESS

idBUSINESS is the standard Information Security operating system for small- to mid-sized businesses. It provides information security planning tools that identify needs, assess risks, comply with the law, and secure an organization’s data. idBUSINESS customers gain access to individual identity theft protection and reactive data breach services from ID Experts, the leaders in fully-managed identity recovery, as well as services from globally recognized forensics firm Net Reaction. To learn more, please visit www.idBUSINESS.com.

About MDDS

The Metropolitan Denver Dental Society (MDDS), a component of the American Dental Association (ADA), has been serving the profession of dentistry since 1897. Our 1,500+ member dentists, representing approximately 82 percent of all the licensed dentists in the Denver metropolitan area, collectively exemplify the MDDS mission of supporting the highest ethical practice of dentistry and being the indispensable source of dental health education and community service in the Denver metropolitan area.

All trademarks and service marks are the property of the respective parties.

News Source: idBUSINESS :: This press release was issued by Send2Press® and is Copyright © 2009 Neotrope® News Network – all rights reserved.

PreViser CEO Carl Loeb noted, “While Macintosh users represent a subset of computer users, they tend to be technically adept users who welcome innovation. We are very excited about the opportunity to work with MacPractice in showing users of their software how PreViser can help enhance practice revenue, increase productivity, and enhance clinical outcomes while increasing patient satisfaction and loyalty.”

MacPractice President Mark Hollis stated, “We are excited to collaborate with PreViser to provide to a growing number of dentists who prefer to use a Mac a solution that can increase income, enhance clinical documentation, and improve communications with patients and insurance carriers.”

PreViser (Booth #2838) and MacPractice (Booth #248) will be exhibiting at Chicago Dental Society’s Midwinter Meeting in Chicago, February 27-March 1, 2009.

For more information:
PreViser: Carl F. Loeb, carlf@previser.com (888) 854-0007, ext 4.
MacPractice: Mark Hollis, markhollis@macpractice.com (212) 683-2224

About PreViser

PreViser Corporation (www.previser.com) provides web-enabled diagnostic decision support tools for dentists and dental hygienists. The PreViser Oral Health Information Suite(TM) enables quick, accurate, reproducible and objective diagnosis and analysis of oral disease risk in an easy-to-understand format for the dental professional and the patient.

About MacPractice

MacPractice, Inc. (www.macpractice.com) is a client-centric practice management and clinical software development firm, comprised of highly experienced and caring individuals, dedicated to the development and support of best-of-class Macintosh software, hardware and associated services for physicians, dentists, and chiropractors.

All trademarks and service marks are the property of the respective parties.

News Source: PreViser Corporation :: This press release was issued by Send2Press® and is Copyright © 2009 Neotrope® News Network – all rights reserved.