CNA Dental Professional Liability Risk Management Online Course

Safe and effective dental care requires close attention to patient needs while managing the various risks associated with clinical practice. Implementing effective patient safety and risk management strategies to protect your patients and your practice can help to improve patient outcomes and minimize the possibility of a malpractice claim. Learn from claim scenarios and other information presented in this online course to better understand and address key risk exposures.

Topics include:

• Dental incident scenarios and examples
• Informed consent and informed refusal procedures
• Claim trends and related considerations
• Communication topics, principles and approaches
• Record keeping and documentation practices
• Patient care/patient management risks
• Adverse event issues, prevention and management
• And more

The CNA Dental Professional Liability Risk Management Online Course is one of the most comprehensive risk management programs available. This informative program will motivate you to assess your practice, apply critical thinking, make prudent choices that enhance patient care and help you to reduce your risk of a malpractice claim. Participants will earn 5 contact hours of continuing education credit for the full 4-module course.* Modules may also be purchased and completed individually, and provide 1.25 credit hours each. A 75% score is required on each module examination to receive continuing education credit.

Course objectives (module number in parentheses):

• Implement a team approach to patient safety and risk management practices. (1)
• Effectively apply the informed consent process to improve patient understanding, safety and satisfaction. (1)
• Understand how the standard of care and negligence apply to dental professional liability. (1)
• Describe an assessment process for the management of “scope of practice” questions. (2)
• Understand current recommendations for oral healthcare for the pregnant patient. (2)
• Describe methods to manage patients who refuse recommended dental radiographs. (2)
• Implement record keeping practices that enhance patient care and reduce malpractice risks. (3)
• Explain the meaning and benefits of the “SOAP” method for recording information in the dental patient record. (3)
• Understand benefits and risks of electronic records and methods to prevent electronic security breaches. (3)
• Develop and implement methods to document and assess adverse outcomes and patient dissatisfaction. (4)
• Describe and implement procedures to manage the most common emergencies in the dental office. (4)
• Understand current recommendations and steps necessary to assess and manage patients who present with symptoms of nerve injury subsequent to dental treatment. (4)

AGD Subject Codes:

149 (Multi-disciplinary Topics) – 2 CE Hours
555 (Dental Jurisprudence/Ethics) – 3 CE Hours

(Electronically mediated online course. Original release date: December 2016. Expiration date: December 31, 2020.)

*Credit toward dental license renewal may vary according to CE hours approved by state boards of dentistry. Please remember that only the relevant insurance policy can provide the actual terms, coverages, amounts, conditions and exclusions for an insured. All products and services may not be available in all states and may be subject to change without notice. CNA is a registered trademark of CNA Financial Corporation. Copyright © 2020 CNA. All rights reserved.