Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) As used in this rule:
(1) "Full-time practice" means working a
minimum of forty hours per week for a minimum of forty-five weeks each service
year. Practice-related administrative activities and/or
teaching activities may not exceed eight hours per week.
(2) "Part-time practice" means working a
minimum of twenty hours and a maximum of thirty-nine hours per week for a
minimum of forty-five weeks each service year. Practice-related administrative
activities and/or teaching activities
may not exceed four hours per
week.
(3) "Provide dental hygiene
services without regard to a patient's ability to pay" means that patients with
incomes below one hundred per cent of the federal poverty guidelines may not be
denied dental services by the dental practice site due to the inability to pay
for such services, assuring that any payments or fees for such services will be
reduced or waived.
(4) "Teaching
activities" means providing clinical education to dental hygiene students
regarding the normal course of practice and expertise at the dental practice
site(s) specified in the contract.
In order to qualify as teaching, the dental hygienist must be
providing clinical education and supervision of dental hygiene students or
clinicians in the approved dental practice site(s) as part of an accredited
clinical training program.
All teaching must be conducted in the dental practice site(s)
specified in the dental hygienist's contract. If the supervising dental
hygienist provides dental hygiene services while the student or clinician
observes, the activity should be counted as direct clinical care rather than
teaching.
(5)
"Teledentistry" means the delivery of dental services
through the use of synchronous, real-time communication and the delivery of
services of a dental hygienist or expanded function dental auxiliary pursuant
to a dentist's authorization as defined in section
4715.43 of the Revised
Code.
In order to qualify as teledentistry
activities, both the originating site(s) (location of the patient) and the
approved practice site(s) must be located in dental health resource shortage
areas.
All teledentistry activities must be
conducted at the practice site(s) specified in the dental hygienist's
contract.
(B) A dental hygienist who has a signed
letter of intent under paragraph (F) of the rule
3701-58-02 of the Administrative
Code and the department may enter into a contract providing for the dental
hygienist's participation in the dental hygienist loan repayment program. The
dental hygienist's employer or other funder may also be party to the
contract.
(C) The contract shall
include all of the following obligations:
(1)
Agreement by the dental hygienist to provide dental hygiene services in the
dental health resource shortage area(s) and practice site(s) approved by the
department and agreed upon by the dental hygienist and director for the
duration specified in the contract;
(2) Agreement by the dental hygienist that,
in providing dental hygiene services in the dental health resource shortage
area, he or she will do all of the following:
(a) Provide dental hygiene services in
full-time practice or part-time practice as specified
in the contract
;
(b) Provide dental hygiene services in a
dental practice site wherein the supervising dentist or dental practice site
meets the conditions prescribed by the "Social Security Act," 49 Stat. 620
(1935), 42 U.S.C.A. as amended (1981) and the Ohio department of medicaid for
participation in the medicaid program established under Chapter 5163. of the
Revised Code and has entered into a contract with the Ohio department of
medicaid and it's contracting managed care plans and provides comprehensive
dental services to a percentage of recipients of the medicaid program at the
approved dental practice site as defined in paragraph (C)(2)(c) of this
rule;
(c) Provide dental hygiene
services to a percentage of individuals determined eligible for the medicaid
program as defined in paragraph (C)(2)(b) of this rule at least equal to the percentage of the general population
in that dental health resource shortage area which has been determined eligible
for the medicaid program;
(d)
Provide dental hygiene services without regard to a patient's ability to pay as
defined under paragraph (A)(3) of this rule.
(3) Agreement by the department as provided
in section 3702.965 of the Revised Code, to
repay, so long as the dental hygienist performs the service obligation to which
he or she has agreed under paragraph (C)(1) of this rule, all or part of the
dental hygienist's educational expenses as defined in paragraph (G) of rule
3701-58-01 of the Administrative
Code.
(4) Agreement by the dental
hygienist to pay the department the following as damages if he or she fails to
complete the service obligation to which he or she agreed under paragraph
(C)(1) of this rule:
(a) Three times the
amount the department has agreed to repay under paragraph (C)(3) of this rule;
or
(b) If funds from another source
are used to repay a portion of the dental hyginist's loans, damages owed if the
dental hygienist fails to complete the service obligation will be the damages
specified by the other source of funds, or as outlined in paragraph (C)(4)(a)
of this rule, whichever is greater.
(5) If the department assumes the dental
hygienist's duty to pay a portion of the loan, the contract shall set forth the
amount of each payment.
(D) The contract shall include the following
terms as agreed upon by the parties:
(1) The
dental hygienist's required length of service in the dental health resource
shortage area which must be at least two years for an initial contract.
Contracts may be renewed for no more than two additional one-year
periods;
(2) The
dental hygienist's commitment to
full-time or part-time practice;
(3) The maximum amount the department will
repay on behalf of the dental hygienist; and
(4) The extent to which the dental
hygienist's teaching activities as defined under paragraph (A)(4) of this rule
will be counted toward the dental hygienist's full-time or part-time practice
hours under the contract.; and
(5)
The extent to
which the dental hygienist's teledentistry activities as defined under
paragraph (A)(5) of this rule will be counted toward the dental hygienist's
full-time or part-time practice hours under the contract.
(E) In addition to the terms
required under paragraphs (C) and (D) of this rule, the contract may contain
other terms agreed upon by the parties.
