HCD Headlines 4-16-2025
- Rachael
- Apr 16
- 7 min read
Tomorrow is our team meeting with the crew from Anchorage & Valley Radiation Therapy Center. You may have seen our ads and posts requesting participation from our community to ask questions about radiation and oral cancer. Dr. Kusano will present information on those topics at our meeting. He is such a great presenter and loves to answer questions.
After his presentation, the doctors, Princess, and I will join them in the lobby for other videos for our various social media platforms. Te will lead the team meeting from that point. Thank you all for your help in helping us build relationships with other medical providers in our community and building our reputation online.
🏆 Work Team Weight Loss Challenge 🏆 HCD Healthy Challenge
Here's the challenge review. We will post trackers in the conference room to help us keep track of points along the way.
Overview:
This 12-week weight loss challenge is designed to encourage healthy habits, teamwork, and friendly competition. Participants will earn points in five categories: Walking Distance, Weight Loss, Attending Classes, Weight Training, and Bonus Activities. Teams of 2 or 3 members will accumulate points together, with both individual and team prizes awarded throughout the program.
Program Rules
Duration: The challenge will run for 12 weeks with progress tracked weekly.
Teams: Each team will have 2 or 3 members, randomly assigned for fairness.
Tracking Progress:• Participants log data weekly.• All data must be verifiable through fitness apps or the program coordinator.• Recommended Free Tracking Apps for iPhone Users:• Walking Distance & Steps: Apple Health, Strava, MapMyWalk.• Weight Loss: Apple Health, MyFitnessPal, Lose It!• Weight Training: Apple Health, Strong, Jefit.
Fair Play: All entries must be honest and verifiable. False reporting will result in disqualification.5. Prizes: Rewards will be given to top individuals and teams based on performance.
Point System
🚶Walking Distance (Miles):
3–5 miles/week: 3 points
8–10 miles/week: 6 points
13–15 miles/week: 9 points
18+ miles/week: 12 points
Note: 2k steps are around 1 mile. Your "daily" steps will count so yes steps done at work will contribute to your overall distance for the day.
⚖️ Weight Loss (Lbs):
1–4 lbs lost: 5 points
5–9 lbs lost: 10 points
10–14 lbs lost: 15 points
15+ lbs lost: 20 points
🏋️ Attending Classes:
1 class per week: 10 points
2 classes per week: 20 points
3+ classes per week: 30 points
Note: classes can include, dance, yoga, boxing, even a sports game (you have to play though)
💪 Weight Training (Verified Sessions):
1 session per week: 10 points
2 sessions per week: 20 points
3+ sessions per week: 30 points
⭐ Bonus Points:
Muscle Gain (Proven via Progress Photos or Body Composition Scan): 25 points
Team Challenge (e.g., 5K walk/run as a group): 10 points per team member•
Attending weekly team check-ins: 2 points per team member
📊 Data Submission & Verification
Walking Distance: Verified via fitness apps (Fitbit, Strava, Apple Health, etc.).
Weight Loss: Verified by weekly weigh-ins with the program coordinator.
Fitness Classes & Weight Training: Verified through class attendance records or workout tracking apps.
Muscle Gain: Verified through progress photos or body composition scan.
🏅 Scoring & Prize System
Points reset after every team meeting, but “Pot” points accumulate for the team and will be counted at each meeting.
Prizes Awarded at Each Team Meeting:
Individual Prize: Highest individual score of the meeting.
Team Prize: Team with the highest score of the meeting.
Grand Prizes at Week 6 & Week 12:
Total team “Pot” points will determine the winning team.
Grand prize awarded to the top-performing team.
📅 Example Weekly Scorecard
Category Individual Points Team Total Points
Walking Distance
Weight Loss
Attending Classes
Weight Training
Bonus Points
Adjusting Clinical Chairs
With the newest clinical chair comes a quick reminder from Burkhart - Stand up BEFORE you adjust the height. This goes for all chairs in the practice. The hydraulics will wear faster if you stay seated because the weight causes increased resistance when lifting the lever. Need to adjust? Jump off, raise to the required height, and jump back on!
Referrals to Medical Offices
We recently had a few patients that needed medical clearance for treatment. This lead to a discussion with the Alaska Heart Institute (AHI) informing us of their requirements in order to receive clearance in a timely manner. With that in mind, here is the new protocol for scheduling patients that need medical clearance.
AHI: Schedule the patient 4-6 weeks out and place them on an ASAP list if appropriate. AHI said this is the minimum time they need to ensure the paperwork is reviewed and signed.
If this is an emergency patient, fax over ASAP and expect to make multiple phone calls in order to get the paperwork signed. Enlist the patient to help with calls to ensure AHI understands the importance of the patient's clearance.
ENT Specialists of Alaska (Geneva Woods ENT): The patient needs to call them 1-2 days after the referral has been sent to the office. This is a temporary issue, but there will be delays if the patient waits to be called once the referral is sent.
Referrals in General
Whenever a referral is given, please inform the front so the referral slip can be sent to the office. Moving forward, this will be part of our practice to forward all necessary information to the referred office in order for them to reach out to the patient or be prepared for when they call.
The information for the referral slip must be included in the clinical note for the DOS the referral was given. If the patient hasn't completed their referral, comes back and the referral is stressed again, please update the date in the procedure code and include the referral note in that DOS.
We are not responsible to call the office to schedule the appointment. With that said, when there's time or an emergency situation, it is an extra step that can create loyalty between the patient at HCD. In these scenarios, it becomes a coordinated request and shared responsibility between the back and front to make the phone call.
Vertical Bitewings Code Requirements
Here is the clarification on vertical bitewings from the American Dental Coders Association (ADCA).
D0274 4 Bitewings - These can be horizontal OR vertical. Limited to 4 x-rays.
D0277 Vertical Bitewings 7-8 - These are vertical bitewings ONLY and must be 7-8 x-rays. These x-rays might trigger a frequency clause with FMX/Pano, but I don't recall seeing that at HCD.
This is another great article from RDH magazine on x-rays, when to take them, and what to write in our clinical notes regarding necessity. I also like the recommendation for patients regarding x-rays frequency. The current guidelines for the ADA are similar to these recommendations from 2007. The main change is the lead apron requirements and focus on the ALARA Principle.
With ALARA (As Little As Reasonably Achievable) in mind, remember our standard of care sets the minimum that we need to do for our patients. However, if our patients are healthy and low risk of decay, our providers can - and should - change the frequency for x-rays. The only ones that can change the frequency for x-rays are the doctors, but as a team, we can review HH, review current state of their oral health, and other risk factors to bring to the doctor's awareness regarding our patients.
Here were the guidelines listed in the article:
Child with transitional dentition (after eruption of the first permanent molar) → Recall patient with no clinical caries or not at increased risk for caries: posterior bitewing exam at 12- to 24-month intervals if proximal surfaces cannot be examined visually or with a probe.
Child with transitional dentition → Recall patient with clinical caries or at increased risk for caries: posterior bitewing exam at six- to 12-month intervals if proximal surfaces cannot be examined visually or with a probe.
Adult → Recall patient with clinical caries or at increased risk for caries: posterior bitewing exam at 6- to 18-month intervals.
Adult → Recall patient with no clinical caries and not at increased risk for caries: posterior bitewing exam at 24- to 36-month intervals.
Maintaining Autoclaves
Should we post these in the sterilization lab to help us stay on top of maintenance?
SpeedClean 2x month or every other week
Door seal - dispose of 1st THEN open new package and install
Drain water EVERY night. Refill EVERY morning.
Limit water to level marked with Sharpie
Place trays vertically
Wipe doors down when wet
Replace filters when water smells fishy (about 9 months)
Returning Patients Specifications
We won't have time to discuss the RP protocol, but I do want to plant the seed for a future discussion regarding patients that haven't been to HCD in over 2 years. Please let me know if you have any questions before we talk about it as a team.
RPHYG is always 90 minutes. Use for patients that haven’t had a cleaning in 2 years.
RPEX is always 90 minutes. Use for patients that haven’t been seen in 2 years.
D0150 can be used for existing or returning patients. Parameters = 1) 5 years since any kind of exam, 2) 2 years since last visit and patient’s health or periodontal condition has changed drastically. Documentation needed describing condition and need for a more comprehensive evaluation. Full PC required for D0180.
HCD Benefits
April is open enrollment for Colonial Life and Premera medical insurance. We are not having Colonial Life present to us as they did in the past. If you would like to talk to them regarding your options or changing your current policies, please follow the QR code in the flyer below setup your time. You have until 4/30 to make any changes.
CIDHA Board Meeting
Just in case our hygienists don't receive this directly, here's the information on the CIDHA Board Meeting tomorrow (4/17) at Don Jose's!
And upcoming CE at UAA...
In order to let your team know you've read the Headlines, share with us your favorite place to camp in name, picture, or meme form. Remember the department that responds 100% will receive an extra chip for the lunch drawing. Thank you, HCD!
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