(1)(a) Subject to RCW 18.29.230 and (e) of this
subsection, dental hygienists licensed under this chapter with
two years' practical clinical experience with a licensed dentist
within the preceding five years may be employed, retained, or
contracted by health care facilities and senior centers to
perform authorized dental hygiene operations and services without
dental supervision.
(b) Subject to RCW 18.29.230 and (e) of this subsection,
dental hygienists licensed under this chapter with two years'
practical clinical experience with a licensed dentist within the
preceding five years may perform authorized dental hygiene
operations and services without dental supervision under a lease
agreement with a health care facility or senior center.
(c) Dental hygienists performing operations and services
under (a) or (b) of this subsection are limited to removal of
deposits and stains from the surfaces of the teeth, application
of topical preventive or prophylactic agents, polishing and
smoothing restorations, and performance of root planing and
soft-tissue curettage, but shall not perform injections of
anesthetic agents, administration of nitrous oxide, or diagnosis
for dental treatment.
(d) The performance of dental hygiene operations and
services in health care facilities shall be limited to patients,
students, and residents of the facilities.
(e) A dental hygienist employed, retained, or contracted to
perform services under this section or otherwise performing
services under a lease agreement under this section in a senior
center must, before providing services:
(i) Enter into a written practice arrangement plan, approved
by the department, with a dentist licensed in this state, under
which the dentist will provide off-site supervision of the dental
services provided. This agreement does not create an obligation
for the dentist to accept referrals of patients receiving
services under the program;
(ii) Collect data on the patients treated by dental
hygienists under the program, including age, treatments rendered,
insurance coverage, if any, and patient referral to dentists.
This data must be submitted to the department of health at the
end of each annual quarter, during the period of time between
October 1, 2007, and October 1, 2013; and
(iii) Obtain information from the patient's primary health
care provider about any health conditions of the patient that
would be relevant to the provision of preventive dental care.
The information may be obtained by the dental hygienist's direct
contact with the provider or through a written document from the
provider that the patient presents to the dental hygienist.
(f) For dental planning and dental treatment, dental
hygienists shall refer patients to licensed dentists.
(2) For the purposes of this section:
(a) "Health care facilities" are limited to hospitals;
nursing homes; home health agencies; group homes serving the
elderly, individuals with disabilities, and juveniles;
state-operated institutions under the jurisdiction of the
department of social and health services or the department of
corrections; and federal, state, and local public health
facilities, state or federally funded community and migrant
health centers, and tribal clinics.
(b) "Senior center" means a multipurpose community facility
operated and maintained by a nonprofit organization or local
government for the organization and provision of a combination of
some of the following: Health, social, nutritional, educational
services, and recreational activities for persons sixty years of
age or older.
[2009 c 321 § 1; 2007 c 270 § 1; 1997 c 37 § 2; 1984 c 279 § 63.]
NOTES:
Report -- 2009 c 321: "The secretary of health, in
consultation with representatives of dental hygienists and
dentists, shall provide a report to the appropriate committees of
the legislature by December 1, 2013, that provides a summary of
the information about patients receiving dental hygiene services
in senior centers that is collected under RCW 18.29.056(1)(e)(ii), and in community-based sealant programs
carried out in schools under RCW 18.29.220. This report must
also include the following:
(1) For patients receiving scaling and root planning
[planing] in senior center practices, an evaluation of the
patient's need for pain control;
(2) For community-based sealant programs in schools, the
number of sealants applied; the teeth cleaning method selected
for the patient; whether the patient was reevaluated at a recall
appointment; and the need for reapplication of the sealant at the
recall appointment; and
(3) For patients receiving treatment in either the senior
center practices or the community-based sealant programs in
schools, the number of referred patients that are seen by a
dentist; the lessons learned from these practices; and any
unintended consequences or outcomes." [2009 c 321 § 3.]
Effective date -- 2009 c 321: "This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect July 1, 2009." [2009 c 321 § 4.]
Report -- 2007 c 270: "The secretary of health, in
consultation with representatives of dental hygienists and
dentists, shall provide a report to the appropriate committees of
the legislature by December 1, 2008, that:
(1) Provides a summary of the information about patients
receiving dental services in senior centers that is collected
under *RCW 18.29.056(1)(c)(ii), and in community-based sealant
programs carried out in schools under RCW 18.29.220, and
describing the dental health outcomes, including both effects on
dental health and adverse incidents, if any, related to the
services these patients receive under the programs; and
(2) Makes recommendations, as appropriate, with regard to
the services that could be appropriately provided by dental
hygienists in senior centers and community-based sealant programs
carried out in schools, and the effects on dental health of
patients treated." [2007 c 270 § 4.]
*Reviser's note: RCW 18.29.056 was amended by 2009 c 321 § 1, changing subsection (1)(c) to subsection (1)(e).
Severability -- 1984 c 279: See RCW 18.130.901.