North Texas Dentistry Volume 5 Issue 3 | Page 5

Convention Issue Southwest Dental Conference AUGUST 6-8, 2015 privacy of such information. Two of Make plans NOW to advertise in the the most common causes of North Texas Dentistry data breach are loss and theft of a device gone missing, the Convention Issue containing ePHI. Once the device and the data it contains have In the game of Monopoly, an unfortunate roll of the dice sometimes lands you face to face with the policeman who ushers you directly to jail. If you haven't secured a get-out-of-jail-free card, you're forced to spend time and energy trying to get out, while everyone else continues to advance around the board. tected health information which compromises the security or covered entity is required to report the breach of their patient data to HHS, to their patients, and also to the media if their When it comes to HIPAA compliance, sometimes an unfortuPromote your business and services to patient pool is large enough. Unless, that is, the data on the lost the North Texas Dental Community nate event can lead to a breach that forces you to spend time or stolen device has been protected by a safeguard called and energy with most likely real-world cash) working with the – before the Southwest Dental Conference (and perfect timing and perfect targeting encryption. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to determine Encryption is the process of using an algorithm to transform whether you had established the right policies and procedures plaintext information into an unreadable format that can only for handling Electronic Patient Health Information (ePHI), b e Hocus Pocus and see insurance for what it really is; simply a financial tool for the transfer of risk. Sit down with someone who has the expertise to explain the component parts to you and help you to understand how they work together to address the risks that concern you most (and likely some you haven’t even considered). Create an insurance budget based on that advice. Once you’ve crafted a program that works to meet your specific requirements, plan to revisit and revise it from time to time as things change. Our lives are not static. The right partner for your practice. What do you think is the most common mistake den‐ sts make in their insurance decisions both person‐ ally and professionally? Kyle Wallace, CIC has been active in the insurance business since 1985 and started working exclusively with dentists in 1997. Terri Wallace has over 20 years of experience in managing small businesses. Kyle and Terri are the owners of Wallace Specialty Insurance Group in Richardson, Texas serving dentists throughout the Southwest. For more information, send an email to [email protected] or call 972-663-5190. A In your field of exper se what would be the most important advice you would offer a seasoned den st and a new den st? For more than 60 years, LegacyTexas has been a trusted banking partner to North Texas dentists. One who understands what it takes to develop a successful practice. And one with the resources to make it happen. So whether you’re just starting out, upgrading equipment or expanding your office, look no further than LegacyTexas. For more information, contact: Stan O’Neil 817.287.5722 Steve Young 972.461.4806 LegacyTexas.com EXPERIENCE SERVICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY Q & KW: For both new and seasoned dentists, my first and most important piece of advice would be to think about your insurance program as a whole, not as individual policies, much in the same way you might think about your investment portfolio. Strip away the 28 NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY | www.northtexasdentistry.com KW: A common mistake among dentists is acting as their own insurance advisor and putting their insurance program in place in a piecemeal fashion buying a little here and a little there based on what they perceive to be a good deal. The reality is that in most cases this approach leads to overpaying for insurance, insuring for lesser or even unnecessary risks and completely missing others. They end up spending their insurance budget inefficiently and often times even ineffectively. There is an emotional component to the purchase of insurance, some forms more than others. Insurance sales people know this and often use it to their advantage, especially those who sell only one line of insurance. Take out the emotion and you’ll see the picture much more clearly. This will also help you to invest your insurance dollars wisely. Most of us understand the concept of getting what you pay for. It’s generally the reason we choose to purchase one thing over another. This concept holds true when applied to insurance. Unfortunately, there seems to be a disconnect when it comes to insurance. A few very vocal insurance companies have built marketing campaigns around the promise that you can get more coverage for less money and it’s just not true. You really do get what you pay for. Still, you don’t always have to buy the most expensive insurance to get what you need. The key is knowing where you should conserve and where you shouldn’t. Most consumers need the assistance of a professional to make these decisions. Unfortunately, very few take full advantage of the assistance available. Specializing in Turn-Key Dental Specializing in Turn-Key Dental Office Solutions Since 1994 Office Solutions Since 1994 What issues do you see in the insurance world that affect den sts and their dental prac ce? KW: As long as I’ve been working exclusively with dentists (20 years now), where the dental world and the insurance world collide you mostly hear, “malpractice, malpractice, malpractice”. It’s a scary word and the risk is real. Still, we know how to address the risk both with insurance and risk management techniques. A good Kyle & Terri Wallace Wallace Specialty Insurance Group 1 7 8 0 6 D a v e n p o r t R d. S u i t e 1 0 7 D a l l a s, T X 7 5 2 5 2 9 7 2 . 2 5 0 . 7 7 7 0 www.esa-construction.com accessed by someone posses ͥ