Emulating Odontolegal Practice: A Paradigm Shift in the Dental Practice Laying More Emphasis on Dental Records—A Perspective and Contemporary Study with a Reality Check

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

ABSTRACT

Aim

This study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge and the awareness on odontolegal practice with more emphasis on significance of maintaining dental records by the oral health professionals.

Materials and methods

A cross-sectional study was carried out among 120 dental practitioners of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Gujarat, and Odisha. A questionnaire was designed to assess their practice and knowledge regarding the importance of maintenance of dental records and the knowledge about dental jurisprudence. Total 120 questionnaire samples were distributed among dental health professionals, and the data obtained were studied and formulated for significance of dental records.

Results

Feedback obtained was then analyzed. Seventy percentage of the dentists are not maintaining clinical records of their patients and 20% of the dentists acknowledged that they are not keeping or maintaining dental records like X-rays and cast models of their patients. Eighty percentage of dentists were not known to the ethical importance of dental record, i.e., for how long they have to maintain records of their patients and other details.

Conclusion

This study concludes that the oral health professionals lacked the knowledge and awareness about odontolegal aspects and the significance of maintaining dental records. It was observed that there was insufficient knowledge about medicolegal systems and there is a need to bring awareness and knowledge of the same in the dental fraternity.

Clinical significance

With the increasing use of medical insurance and subsequently mediclaims, negligence suits, scientific evaluation, and research purposes, and health planning, etc., the “dental records itself have evolved as a separate science and therefore needs to be considered in the curriculum for dental students as this would introduce the concept for application in their future practice, thus avoiding legal complications in the future.”

How to cite this article

Kaul B, Gupta S, Vaid V, et al. Emulating Odontolegal Practice: A Paradigm Shift in the Dental Practice Laying More Emphasis on Dental Records—A Perspective and Contemporary Study with a Reality Check. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2020;13(3):217–220.

Related collections

Most cited references 6

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Medical records and issues in negligence

Joseph L Thomas (2009)

It is very important for the treating doctor to properly document the management of a patient under his care. Medical record keeping has evolved into a science of itself. This will be the only way for the doctor to prove that the treatment was carried out properly. Moreover, it will also be of immense help in the scientific evaluation and review of patient management issues. Medical records form an important part of the management of a patient. It is important for the doctors and medical establishments to properly maintain the records of patients for two important reasons. The first one is that it will help them in the scientific evaluation of their patient profile, helping in analyzing the treatment results, and to plan treatment protocols. It also helps in planning governmental strategies for future medical care. But of equal importance in the present setting is in the issue of alleged medical negligence. The legal system relies mainly on documentary evidence in a situation where medical negligence is alleged by the patient or the relatives. In an accusation of negligence, this is very often the most important evidence deciding on the sentencing or acquittal of the doctor. With the increasing use of medical insurance for treatment, the insurance companies also require proper record keeping to prove the patient's demand for medical expenses. Improper record keeping can result in declining medical claims. It is disheartening to note that inspite of knowing the importance of proper record keeping it is still in a nascent stage in India. It is wise to remember that “Poor records mean poor defense, no records mean no defense”. Medical records include a variety of documentation of patient's history, clinical findings, diagnostic test results, preoperative care, operation notes, post operative care, and daily notes of a patient's progress and medications. A properly obtained consent will go a long way in proving that the procedures were conducted with the concurrence of the patient. A properly written operative note can protect a surgeon in case of alleged negligence due to operative complications. It is important that the prescription for drugs should be legible with the name of the patient, date, and the signature of the doctor. An undated prescription can land a doctor in trouble if the patient misuses it. There are also many records that are indirectly related to patient management such as accounts records, service records of the staff, and administrative records, which are also useful as evidences for litigation purposes. Medical recording needs the concerted effort of a number of people involved in patient care. The doctor is the prime person who has to oversee this process and is primarily responsible for history, physical examination, treatment plans, operative records, consent forms, medications used, referral papers, discharge records, and medical certificates. There should be proper recording of nursing care, laboratory data, reports of diagnostic evaluations, pharmacy records, and billing processes. This means that the paramedical and nursing staff also should be trained in proper maintenance of patient records. The medical scene in India extends from smaller clinics to large hospitals. Medical record keeping is a specialized area in bigger teaching and corporate hospitals with separate medical records officers handling these issues. However, it is yet to develop into a proper process in the large number of smaller clinics and hospitals that cater to a large section of the people in India.

0 comments Cited 37 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Dental records: An overview

B Charangowda (2010)

Dental records consist of documents related to the history of present illness, clinical examination, diagnosis, treatment done, and the prognosis. A thorough knowledge of dental records is essential for the practicing dentist, as it not only has a forensic application, but also a legal implication with respect to insurance and consumerism. This article reviews the importance of dental records in forensics.

0 comments Cited 27 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Awareness of forensic odontology among dental practitioners in Chennai: A knowledge, attitude, practice study

S Preethi, A Einstein, B Sivapathasundharam (2011)

Objective: The aim of the study is to analyze the knowledge, attitude and practice of forensic odontology among dental practitioners in Chennai. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 322 dental practitioners in Chennai and data was collected by means of a questionnaire. Results: Twenty-one percent of the dental practitioners did not maintain dental records in their clinic/workplace, with only 12% of the practitioners maintaining complete records. Ninety-three percent of dental practitioners were not maintaining dental records for more than seven years. The significance of ante-mortem records in identifying deceased suspects was not known to 17% of the dental practitioners. Forty percent of the dental practitioners were not aware of child abuse and the actions to be taken. Dental age estimation was not known to 41% of the dental practitioners. Thirty-eight percent of the practitioners were unaware of the accurate method of individual identification. About 18% of the dental practitioners did not know the significance of bite mark patterns of the teeth. Ninety-three percent of the practitioners lacked formal training in collecting, evaluating and presenting dental evidence. Thirty percent of dental practitioners did not know they can testify as an expert witness in the court of law. Forty percent of the dental practitioners were unaware of identifying the age and gender of an individual in mass disasters. Conclusion: Our study revealed inadequate knowledge, poor attitude and lack of practice of forensic odontology prevailing among the dental practitioners in Chennai.

0 comments Cited 21 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

All references

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Int J Clin Pediatr Dent

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Int J Clin Pediatr Dent

Journal ID (publisher-id): IJCPD

Title: International Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry

Publisher: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers

ISSN (Print): 0974-7052

ISSN (Electronic): 0975-1904

Publication date (Print): May-Jun 2020

Volume: 13

Issue: 3

Pages: 217-220

Affiliations

[1 ]Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Indira Gandhi Government Dental College, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India

[2 ]Department of Forensic Odontology, Indian Dental Association, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

[3 ]Department of Forensic Odontology, Gujarat Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India

[4 ]Department of Dentistry, Govt Hospital Sarwal, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India

Author notes

Bhavna Kaul, Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Indira Gandhi Government Dental College, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India, Phone: +91 9419122288, e-mail: drbhavnakaul@ 123456yahoo.com

Article

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10005-1755

PMC ID: 7450200

SO-VID: 50751beb-1b8a-491b-be19-3313e6154d73

License:

© The Author(s). 2020 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and non-commercial reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

History

Comments

Comment on this article

scite_

Smart Citations

Citing PublicationsSupportingMentioningContrasting

View Citations

See how this article has been cited at scite.ai

scite shows how a scientific paper has been cited by providing the context of the citation, a classification describing whether it supports, mentions, or contrasts the cited claim, and a label indicating in which section the citation was made.

Cited by 1

The discriminative potential of palatal geometric analysis for sex discrimination and human identification
Authors: Botond Simon, Kenneth Aschheim, János Vág

See all cited by

Most referenced authors 24

See all reference authors

Emulating Odontolegal Practice: A Paradigm Shift in the Dental Practice Laying More Emphasis on Dental Records—A Perspective and Contemporary Study with a Reality Check

Read this article at

ABSTRACT

Aim

Materials and methods

Results

Conclusion

Clinical significance

How to cite this article

Related collections

Citation Behaviour and Practice

Most cited references 6

Medical records and issues in negligence

Dental records: An overview

Awareness of forensic odontology among dental practitioners in Chennai: A knowledge, attitude, practice study

Author and article information

Journal

Affiliations

Author notes

Article

History

Categories

Comments

Comment on this article

Similar content 195

Cited by 1

Most referenced authors 24