Bill Text: NY A00335 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Authorizes dental hygienists to provide such services without supervision in collaboration with a licensed dentist under a collaborative practice agreement.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to higher education [A00335 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A00335-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           335
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 9, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by M. of A. PAULIN, CAHILL -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
          ORTIZ -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education
        AN ACT to amend the education law,  in  relation  to  registered  dental
          hygienists  working  without  supervision  but  within a collaborative
          practice agreement with a licensed dentist
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 6607-a
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 6607-a. Practice of collaborative practice dental hygiene and use of
     4  title "registered dental hygienist, collaborative practice" (RDH-CP). 1.
     5  The  practice of the profession of dental hygiene, as defined under this
     6  article, may be performed  in  collaboration  with  a  licensed  dentist
     7  provided  such services are performed in accordance with a written prac-
     8  tice agreement and written practice protocols to be known as a  collabo-
     9  rative  practice  agreement.  Under  a collaborative practice agreement,
    10  dental hygienists may perform all services which are designated in regu-
    11  lation without prior evaluation of a dentist or medical professional and
    12  may  be  performed  without  supervision  in  a  collaborative  practice
    13  setting.
    14    2.  (a)  The  collaborative practice agreement shall include consider-
    15  ation for medically compromised patients, specific  medical  conditions,
    16  and  age-  and procedure-specific practice protocols, including, but not
    17  limited to recommended intervals for the performance of  dental  hygiene
    18  services  and  a periodicity in which an examination by a dentist should
    19  occur.
    20    (b) The collaborative agreement shall be:
    21    (i) signed and maintained by the dentist, the  dental  hygienist,  and
    22  the facility, program, or organization;
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03768-01-9
        A. 335                              2
     1    (ii) reviewed annually by the collaborating dentist and dental hygien-
     2  ist; and
     3    (iii)  made  available  to the department and other interested parties
     4  upon request.
     5    (c) Only one agreement between a collaborating dentist and  registered
     6  dental  hygienist,  collaborative practice (RDH-CP) may be in force at a
     7  time.
     8    3. Before performing any services authorized  under  this  section,  a
     9  dental  hygienist  must  provide  the  patient  with a written statement
    10  advising the patient that the dental hygiene services provided are not a
    11  substitute for a dental examination by a licensed dentist. If the dental
    12  hygienist makes any referrals to the patient for further  dental  proce-
    13  dures,  the dental hygienist must fill out a referral form and provide a
    14  copy of the form to the collaborating dentist.
    15    4. The collaborative  practice  dental  hygienist  may  enter  into  a
    16  contractual  arrangement with any New York state licensed and registered
    17  dentist, health care facility, program, and/or  non-profit  organization
    18  to  perform  dental  hygiene  services in the following settings: dental
    19  offices; longterm care facilities/skilled nursing facilities; public  or
    20  private  schools;  public  health  agencies/federally  qualified  health
    21  centers;  correctional  facilities;  public  institutions/mental  health
    22  facilities; and private settings in which homebound residents are unable
    23  to be relocated for necessary treatment.
    24    5. A collaborating dentist shall have collaborative agreements with no
    25  more  than  six collaborative practice dental hygienists. The department
    26  may grant exceptions to these limitations for public health settings  on
    27  a case-by-case basis.
    28    6.  A  dental  hygienist  must  make application to the New York state
    29  education department to  practice  as  a  registered  dental  hygienist,
    30  collaborative  practice (RDH-CP) and pay a fee set by the department. As
    31  a condition of collaborative practice, the dental  hygienist  must  have
    32  been engaged in practice for three years with a minimum of four thousand
    33  five  hundred  practice hours and must complete an eight hour continuing
    34  education program that includes instruction in medical emergency  proce-
    35  dures,  risk  management,  dental hygiene jurisprudence and professional
    36  ethics.
    37    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.