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Clinic Policy Manual

WREB Patient Recruitment

Subject:  Patient Recruitment for the Western Regional Examination Board (WREB)
Effective Date: February 2015

Purpose

 To guide staff, students and faculty on how to properly recruit WREB patients.

General Policy

Staff, students, and faculty shall properly recruit WREB patients in a manner that:

  1. Respects Protected Health Information (PHI) of patients.
  2. Is Consistent with the requirements of HIPAA regulations.
  3. Ensures that patients receive excellent care and treatment.
  4. Assists students in successfully fulfilling and completing the licensure requirements set forth by WREB.
  5. Complies with state law governing the use of University resources

This policy is intended solely to facilitate the provision of patients for the WREB licensure process while ensuring compliance with the School of Dentistry’s responsibilities under applicable law governing patient privacy and use of University resources. The UW School of Dentistry does not control or administer WREB sponsored activities.

Implementation

A. Electronic Records

Student providers may not access electronic records containing PHI (i.e. axiUm) with respect to patients who are not currently assigned to the provider’s patient roster by a Patient Care Coordinator (PCC).

B. Patient Consent

Before a patient can be considered a WREB candidate, the patient must be adequately informed about the process, review and sign a Western Regional Examination Board (WREB) PHI Consent Form (see Appendix A). The aforementioned PHI form must be distributed to all patients who elect to participate in WREB as a patient and who are being screened at the UW School of Dentistry for such purposes.  Patients must sign the consent form prior to a student receiving access to view a patient record.

C. Assignment of Patients for WREB

Pre-doc Student Assessment

If a student provider performs an assessment in any one of the clinics and discovers a lesion or periodontal condition that may qualify the patient to be a WREB examination candidate, the provider must inform a PCC with the identification of the patient and possible lesions and/or conditions qualifying him/her as a potential WREB candidate, along with the signed consent form. Thereafter, a PCC will review the patient chart and assign the consenting patient to a student provider who is preparing for WREB examinations and who is in need of a patient presenting the condition(s) at issue, for limited care.

Faculty or Graduate Assessment and Limited Care Option

If a faculty member or graduate student is performing an assessment in any one of the clinics and finds a carious lesion or periodontal conditions that would qualify the patient as a potential WREB patient, the faculty provider can present the option of obtaining limited care to the patient and requesting the patient sign a WREB consent form.  If the patient consents to be a WREB patient, the faculty will notify the appropriate staff member and the patient will be referred to the PCC who will identify a student provider preparing for WREB examination and who is in need of a patient presenting the condition at issue, for limited care.

D. Role of Patient Care Coordinator

The PCC shall be the “clearinghouse” for patients who have consented to be a WREB patient and will have sole discretion to assign the patient to a WREB student candidate.  The PCC will ensure (and make appropriate notations in the electronic health records) that the student and patient understand that the WREB student candidate will provide certain services as part of the WREB exam and that ongoing patient care will be the responsibility of the student or faculty provider who conducted the original assessment or screening.

It is the responsibility of the students to provide a PCC with a list of the types of patients and/or conditions they require to complete their WREB licensure.  The PCC will assist the student in finding an appropriate consented patient but is  NOT responsible for providing a WREB patient for the student candidate. Notwithstanding the School of Dentistry’s efforts to assist student providers, recruitment of WREB patients is ultimately the responsibility of the student candidate and not the responsibility of the School of Dentistry, Clinic Faculty and or staff. (1)

This policy will remain enforce and can be revised and/or revoked at any time by the School of Dentistry’s Administration without advance notice. Any question and concerns should be referred to the Associate Dean for Clinics.

(1) See also “2015 DENTAL EXAM Candidate Guide” WREB 2015; p. 13.

Appendices:           

Appendix A, Western Regional Examination Board (WREB) PHI Consent Form (PDF)

Dean of UW SOD:

Joel Berg, Dean of the UW School of Dentistry

9-15-2016