Medical Emergencies are for real and they happen in the dental office. 

 

The ADA estimates there are about 3000 life-threatening emergencies in dental offices every year.

 

Do NOT take the word of another dentist saying otherwise! 

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This is YOUR practice, protect it.  The decision you make to GET READY NOW could be the difference in a medical emergency being either “career-defining” or “career-ending!” 

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Overreliance on emergency medical services (EMS) may be costly! The average response time for EMS to respond to a 911 call can be 11 minutes in an urban setting and 15 minutes in a rural setting.  These average response times are based on historical record when the primary EMS unit was available and not already responding to another call, requiring an alternate EMS squad to be dispatched. 

 

Planning for the “worst case” contingencies, dental offices should be prepared to manage a medical crisis for up to 30 minutes without outside assistance.

 

Ask yourself, “Can I manage a serious medical emergency for 30 minutes?”

 

If you are not absolutely sure of the answer to that question, use this checklist to assess your ability  to protect your patient in that time period (potentially 30 minutes long) between the identification of a medical problem and the arrival of outside assistance.

 

This checklist is intended to help you know for sure that you have prepared properly to manage a medical crisis and to document your preparation should you ever need it for a regulatory review or legal proceeding. If ever challenged, having completed this checklist will help provide proof of your due-diligence and substantiation of your medical emergency preparedness.  You are risk-proofing your practice and protecting your livelihood."