Current through Reg. 49, No. 12; March 22, 2024
(a) Pursuant to §
258.202 of the
Texas Occupations Code, the board establishes an advisory committee: the
Advisory Committee on Dental Anesthesia.
(b) Purpose. The purpose of the advisory
committee is to analyze and report on de-identified data and associated trends
concerning anesthesia-related deaths or incidents. The data and information
provided by the agency to the advisory committee is confidential. The
recommendations and findings reported by the advisory committee to the board
are public information and published on the board's Internet website.
(c) Compilation of Information by Agency. The
agency shall identify investigations and provide confidential, de-identified
information regarding the investigations to the advisory committee as described
below:
(1) By September 30 of each year, the
agency shall identify official investigations in which the preliminary
investigation was initiated after September 1, 2016, and the official
investigation was resolved by the board in the preceding fiscal year, which
involve anesthesia-related deaths or incidents. A death shall be considered
anesthesia-related if the dental treatment involved the administration of an
anesthetic or sedative agent in the dental office, including local anesthesia,
and a death occurred. An incident shall be considered anesthesia-related if the
dental treatment involved the administration of an anesthetic or sedative agent
in a dental office, including local anesthesia, and the Dental Review Panel
identified a complication associated with the administration of the anesthetic
or sedative agent.
(2) By November
30 of each year, the agency shall compile confidential, de-identified
information on each investigation identified under paragraph (1) of this
subsection, including, but not limited to, the following information:
(A) Information about respondent:
(i) Whether respondent is a Medicaid
provider;
(ii) Respondent's highest
sedation/anesthesia permit level;
(iii) Whether respondent reported providing
anesthesia services in more than one location on the licensee's application or
latest renewal;
(iv) Respondent's
self-reported practice area; and
(v) Whether the investigation was initiated
as the result of a complaint submitted by a patient or member of the public, as
a self-report to the agency required by Board Rule 108.6, or both.
(B) Information about patient:
(i) Patient ASA, as identified in
respondent's dental records and/or determined by Dental Review Panel;
(ii) Patient age -- under the age of 13, 13
and over but under 18, 18 and over but under 75, and 75 and over;
(iii) Location of the treatment investigated
by the agency -- dental office, hospital, ASC, office of other
practitioner;
(iv) Level of
sedation/anesthesia administered -- Local, Nitrous, I, II, III, IV (determined
by Dental Review Panel);
(v)
Sedation/anesthesia administrator -- respondent, other dentist, MD, CRNA
(determined by Dental Review Panel); and
(vi) Whether treatment investigated by the
agency was paid by Medicaid; and
(C) The Dental Review Panel report designated
as the final report by the Dental Review Panel.
(3) By November 30 of each year, the agency
shall provide the information identified under paragraph (2) of this subsection
to the members of the advisory committee.
(4) On request of the advisory committee, the
agency may provide confidential, de-identified investigative files to the
advisory committee in addition to the information provided under paragraph (2)
of this subsection. Pursuant to § 258.505 of the Texas Occupations Code,
the advisory committee may conduct a closed meeting to review confidential
investigative files provided to the advisory committee under this
paragraph.
(d) Analysis
of Information by Advisory Committee. The advisory committee shall analyze the
information compiled under subsection (c)(2) to identify any trends and submit
a report to the board as described below:
(1)
By June 30 of each year, the advisory committee shall submit a written report
to the board of the advisory committee's findings and any recommendations for
changes to the board rules or the Dental Practice Act.
(2) The advisory committee's annual report
shall be posted on the Board's Internet website.
(e) Membership and Term Length. The advisory
committee consists of six members appointed by the board to serve staggered
two-year terms. The Board's presiding officer will draw lots to determine which
of the three initial members will serve a one-year term and which three will
serve a two-year term, all of which begin on December 1, 2017. Thereafter, all
appointments will be for two years from the date of appointment. Members,
including the advisory committee chair, may serve no more than three
consecutive two-year terms as members of the advisory committee. An advisory
committee chair may serve no more than four consecutive one-year terms as
advisory committee chair. The advisory committee must include a licensed Texas
physician anesthesiologist and five licensed Texas dentists. The five licensed
Texas dentists must include at least one dentist who holds a level 1
sedation/anesthesia permit and no higher permit, at least one dentist who holds
a level 2 sedation/anesthesia permit and no higher permit, at least one dentist
who holds a level 3 sedation/anesthesia permit and no higher permit, and at
least one dentist who holds a level 4 sedation/anesthesia permit. In addition,
the five dentist members of the advisory committee shall include one general
dentist. The remaining four dentist members shall be dentists who are
university-trained in their respective practice areas, with applicants'
education and experience verified during the application process. These four
dentist members shall include one university-trained dentist to represent each
of the following practice areas:
(1) dental
anesthesiology;
(2) oral and
maxillofacial surgery;
(3)
pediatric dentistry; and
(4)
periodontics.
(f)
Qualification for Membership. A person cannot be appointed as a member unless
he or she holds a Texas dental or medical license that he or she has maintained
in good standing for at least the five years preceding application for
membership on the advisory committee. A license is in good standing if it is
not expired, currently subject to a probated suspension, or currently subject
to an enforced suspension.
(g)
Board Member Membership on Advisory Committee. In accordance with §
258.202(c)
of the Texas Occupations Code, a currently serving board member cannot be
appointed to the advisory committee. A former board member cannot be appointed
to the advisory committee prior to the second anniversary of the expiration or
termination of the board member's service on the board.
(h) Application, Nomination, and Confirmation
Process. Pursuant to §
258.203
of the Texas Occupations Code, the board establishes the following process for
the application, nomination, and confirmation of members of the advisory
committee.
(1) Application for Membership.
The application for the initial appointments will be published on the board's
internet website by October 1, 2017,and the application period will close on
October 15, 2017. Thereafter , the agency shall publish an application for
advisory committee membership on the board's Internet website three months
prior to the expiration of an appointment or as soon as possible following the
resignation or removal of a member. The application period shall close two
weeks after the application has been published.
(2) Nomination of Advisory Committee Members.
By November 1, 2017, the presiding officer of the board shall review all
initial applications and nominate applicants for membership on the advisory
committee. Thereafter, nominations will be made within two weeks of the closure
of the application period. The applicants nominated by the presiding officer
shall represent the same self-reported practice area as the member they may
replace.
(3) Confirmation of
Advisory Committee Members. By December 1, 2017, the board shall vote by ballot
in a public meeting to confirm or reject each of the presiding officer's
initial nominees for membership on the advisory committee. Thereafter, the
board shall vote for nominees at the first regularly scheduled board meeting
that follows the nominations. Confirmation of a nominee requires the
affirmative vote of an absolute majority of the entire membership of the board
if the board is comprised of more than six, but fewer than eleven members, or
if the board is comprised of more than eleven members. Confirmation of a
nominee requires the affirmative vote of at least seven members of the board if
the board is comprised of eleven members.
(4) Rejection of Nomination by Board. If one
of the presiding officer's nominations for membership on the advisory committee
is rejected by the board, the presiding officer shall nominate another
applicant to membership on the advisory committee, subject to confirmation by
the board, as described in paragraph (3) of this subsection. The subsequent
nominee shall represent the same self-reported practice area as the original
nominee.
(5) Appointment of
Advisory Committee Members. The appointment of an advisory committee member
commences on the date the board confirms the presiding officer's appointment of
the advisory committee member.
(i) Designation of Advisory Committee Chair.
Each year the presiding officer of the board shall designate one of the
advisory committee members appointed by the board to serve a one-year term as
chair of the advisory committee.
(1) This
paragraph applies if the board is comprised of more than six, but fewer than
eleven members, or if the board is comprised of more than eleven members. The
board shall confirm the presiding officer's designation by affirmative vote of
an absolute majority of the entire membership of the board. If the presiding
officer's designation is unconfirmed by such an affirmative vote, the presiding
officer shall designate another member of the advisory committee as the chair
of the advisory committee, subject to an affirmative vote of an absolute
majority of the entire membership of the board.
(2) This paragraph applies if the board is
comprised of eleven members. The board shall confirm the presiding officer's
designation by affirmative vote of at least seven members of the board. If the
presiding officer's designation is unconfirmed by such an affirmative vote, the
presiding officer shall designate another member of the advisory committee as
the chair of the advisory committee, subject to an affirmative vote of at least
seven members of the board.
(j) Resignation, Removal, and Replacement of
Advisory Committee Members. If an advisory committee member resigns or is
removed from the advisory committee prior to the expiration of his or her term,
the advisory committee member shall be replaced with another member that
represents the self-reported practice area of the former advisory committee
member. The application period shall re-open for a period of no more than 30
days. The agency shall publish the application for advisory committee
membership on the board's Internet website, specifying the self-reported
practice area to be replaced by a new member of the advisory committee. The
presiding officer shall nominate the replacement member of the advisory
committee at the next public meeting of the board, and the board shall confirm
or reject the nomination as described in subsection (h) of this
section.
(k) Confidential
Information. The members of the advisory committee shall execute
confidentiality agreements related to their membership on the advisory
committee. Violation of the confidentiality agreement is grounds for immediate
removal from the advisory committee and may subject the member of the advisory
committee to investigation and disciplinary proceedings for dishonorable
conduct pursuant to Board Rule 108.9.
(l) Communication with Other Parties. Members
of the advisory committee shall not engage in private communications with
non-advisory committee members about the subject matter of the advisory
committee or its work, except that members of the advisory committee may
communicate with agency staff to facilitate the completion of tasks required by
this rule.
(m) Reimbursement. The
advisory committee may be reimbursed for expenses in accordance with §
2110.004
of the Texas Government Code.
