When you have a new patient come into your dental practice, they may find it annoying to have to sign a stack of paperwork, but this step of the process actually benefits both parties. One of those important documents is the dental consent form, which states that the patient gives your practice permission to treat them. This consent may seem implied and obvious, but addressing every detail in writing can protect you from being sued, fined, or worse and can make sure the patient knows what they need to know about treatment they are going to receive.
Why Do You Need a Clear Dental Consent Form?
Unfortunately, in history, some dentists have not prioritized transparency with their patients. They moved forward with treatment without informing the patient about what’s involved in the procedure, potential risks, and other details that could affect their decision to undergo treatment. Over the years, laws have added requirements for dentists to explain this information so that the patient is aware of what may happen.
When a patient fills out this paperwork in person in the office, the front desk team member can more quickly explain what each form includes and describes; otherwise, the patient could spend unnecessary time reading each word. Although the exact phrasing isn’t prescribed or mandated to be a certain way, it needs to be at least somewhat clear so that if a patient chooses to read it for themselves, they can understand it and not question whether they are being tricked or signing questionable documentation.
What Needs to Be in a Dental Consent Form?
At minimum, your dental practice needs to have a consent form that includes the patient’s name, address, contact information, a clear explanation of the procedure, brief statements of the risks involved, and verbiage granting the practice permission to work with the patient, and, of course, the patient’s signature and date. This information lays out clearly that legally your practice has fully informed the patient and obtained permission to treat them.
Whether you put it in the consent form itself or another separate form in the pile, you also need to collect this information from the patient upon scheduling the appointment:
- Patient insurance information: Your team will need to confirm that the patient is covered and what benefits are available in their plan prior to their arrival.
- Medical history: The patient’s oral and medical health are connected, and your team needs to know about certain conditions to keep the patient safe.
- Financial agreement: You need to have the patient’s promise that they will pay whatever insurance doesn’t cover and confirm that they are aware of this obligation to avoid financial disputes or conflict later.
When you own and operate your own business, it can be stressful to make sure you have all the proper forms and paperwork, but these forms, including the consent form, can spare you the expense and reputational damage of legal action should something go wrong. To make sure you’re completely covered, and all the steps are performed properly, you can trust a third-party service company to take care of this paperwork and insurance verification for you!
About Dental Support Specialties
Dental Support Specialties was founded in 2008 and has excelled in providing remote administrative support to dental practices throughout the country since. With a team of experienced dental professionals, we know how to work with basically any scheduling software. In addition to answering phone calls, we can also verify insurance coverage and benefits, file insurance claims, and perform chart auditing. To schedule a consultation with our team, contact us here.