FCC Asked to Include Dentists in COVID-19 Telehealth Program

With dentists struggling to stay afloat during the Coronavirus pandemic, the American Dental Association is calling on the federal government to support practices using telehealth.

In an April 27 letter for Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, ADA executives called on the FCC to include dentists in its $200 million COVIUD-19 Telehealth Program. The program, created through last month’s CARES Act, limits applicants to those meeting the definition of a healthcare provider in section 254(h)(7)(B) of the 1996 Telecommunications Act.

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Faced with restrictions to in-person care and requirements for personal protective equipment caused by the COVID-19 crisis, many dentists are shutting down and referring patients in need of urgent dental care to hospitals. Some, such as Penn Dental Medicine, are expanding their connected health platform to conduct virtual care, prescribe medications and screen patients in need of care.

“Dentists use virtual screening to determine the nature of patient dental emergencies,” ADA President Chad P. Gehani and Executive Director Kathleen T. O’Laughlin said in their letter.

They noted that the ADA has released interim guidance asking dentists to “make every effort to interview the patient by telephone, text monitoring system or video conference before the visit” to avoid exposure to the COVID-19 virus.

As of April 28, the FCC has doled out $9.5 million in grants to 17 healthcare providers in 10 states to help them expand telehealth and mHealth programs designed to care for infected and isolated patients, enhance safety measures for care providers and improve care management for others not infected with the virus who need medical care.

Gehani and O’Laughlin have asked the FCC to allow dental practices, regardless of size, location or for-profit status, to apply for funding, which would go toward teledentistry costs that include office and software upgrades and telemedicine equipment.

The CARES Act “says that the FCC may limit the Telehealth Program to such providers, but does not require the Commission to do so,” they wrote. “The ADA urges the FCC to reconsider its decision and allow all dentists to apply for the Telehealth Program funds.”