The American Dental Association has requested the improvement of interoperability standards to allow dentists to better report and code dental care, according to an Oct. 4 news release.
Here are five things for dental professionals to know:
1. The ADA wrote a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra asking for the U.S. Core Data for Interoperability to be updated to version 5 opposed to the currently proposed version 4.
2. The newer version includes standardized dental procedure coding.
3. Dental practices that use certified health information technology, including information blocking, electronic prescribing criteria, digital imaging and prior authorization could be impacted by the proposals.
4. The ADA also expressed its support for a new exception to information blocking regulations, updating radiographic imaging criteria, a new standard for electronic prescribing and incentivizing dental health information technology vendors to adopt new standards intended to automate and streamline prior authorizations.
5. The organization called for version 5 by Jan. 1, 2028.