The Portuguese Association of Public Service Dentists (APOMED-SP), recently constituted, says that in its opinion it should not be considered that there are dentists in Health Centers.
The association thus accuses the Government of having placed in the Health Centers, within the scope of the pilot project that was created in 2015 to offer medical consultations in the SNS, senior technicians of the general career, graduates or masters in Dentistry and, therefore, duly qualified for this clinical practice, but whose career and daily clinical practice are incompatible under the law.
The association thus accuses the Government of having placed in the Health Centers, within the scope of the pilot project that was created in 2015 to offer medical consultations in the SNS, senior technicians of the general career, graduates or masters in Dentistry and, therefore, duly qualified for this clinical practice, but whose career and daily clinical practice are incompatible under the law.
In a note sent to the newsrooms, which summarizes the association's management meeting that took place last January 16 to take stock of oral health in Portugal, APOMED-SP underlines that in the opinion of APOMED-SP (…) it should not be considered that there are dentists in Health Centers (…) There are still service providers, with green receipts, placed in Health Centers by private companies that hire them. In accordance with Law No. 63/2013 of 27 August and with Article 12 of Law 7/2009 of 14 September, these contracts are based on false green receipts: they do not work at their own location, but in a place that belongs to someone else, where the company sends them to present; they use equipment and other materials that do not belong to them; are required to attend attendance; have goals to fulfill, set by the company or by the Health Services; they receive a fixed monthly salary, which may differ from company to company or even depending on the place of work.
The association representing public service dentists also says that in order to standardize procedures, rights and duties, there is an urgent need to approve the special dental medicine career to the Ministry of Finance, taking into account that that career was approved at the Ministry of Health in November 2017 and since then no further progress is known in this process.
The association representing public service dentists also says that in order to standardize procedures, rights and duties, there is an urgent need to approve the special dental medicine career to the Ministry of Finance, taking into account that that career was approved at the Ministry of Health in November 2017 and since then no further progress is known in this process.
Dentists without assistants
APOMED-SP also denounces several issues related to safety and quality in the provision of oral health care in the National Health Service, referring that currently, there are doctors who work without an assistant (they work, therefore, alone). Thus, when carrying out the treatments that fall within their competence, they cannot guarantee the required quality. More: there are situations in which the safety of the user and the professional can be seriously compromised, in the absence of an assistant. The problem has already been reported on several occasions to higher levels, without taking any steps towards its resolution.
Some dentists do not have access to the patient's clinical file properly. Thus, they have more difficulty in identifying all the associated pathology, nor what is the current therapy. Many users do not know how to explain to the dentist neither of those two situations. It is easy, therefore, in these cases, to make gross errors in clinical terms by limiting access to computer systems, under the same conditions as other doctors, the association also accuses.
Furthermore, the association reveals that the referral of patients to the dentist is mandatorily done by the family doctor, sometimes it happens in open consultation and not by the family doctor. If the dentist needs to refer a patient to the Hospital Services, namely to the Stomatology or Maxillofacial Surgery Service, he must ask the family doctor again (when available) to do so. This situation is devoid of nexus and the most elementary common sense.
It is not understood that the dentist cannot refer you to the hospital. Likewise, it is not perceived that the dentist cannot refer patients to the so-called dental check program, and this referral is in charge of other health professionals, some without specific preparation in oral health and preventing other professionals with health training. oral (for example, Oral Hygienists) can do it directly for SO-CSP (sometimes even following their activities in School Health), he concludes.
APOMED-SP also denounces several issues related to safety and quality in the provision of oral health care in the National Health Service, referring that currently, there are doctors who work without an assistant (they work, therefore, alone). Thus, when carrying out the treatments that fall within their competence, they cannot guarantee the required quality. More: there are situations in which the safety of the user and the professional can be seriously compromised, in the absence of an assistant. The problem has already been reported on several occasions to higher levels, without taking any steps towards its resolution.
Some dentists do not have access to the patient's clinical file properly. Thus, they have more difficulty in identifying all the associated pathology, nor what is the current therapy. Many users do not know how to explain to the dentist neither of those two situations. It is easy, therefore, in these cases, to make gross errors in clinical terms by limiting access to computer systems, under the same conditions as other doctors, the association also accuses.
Furthermore, the association reveals that the referral of patients to the dentist is mandatorily done by the family doctor, sometimes it happens in open consultation and not by the family doctor. If the dentist needs to refer a patient to the Hospital Services, namely to the Stomatology or Maxillofacial Surgery Service, he must ask the family doctor again (when available) to do so. This situation is devoid of nexus and the most elementary common sense.
It is not understood that the dentist cannot refer you to the hospital. Likewise, it is not perceived that the dentist cannot refer patients to the so-called dental check program, and this referral is in charge of other health professionals, some without specific preparation in oral health and preventing other professionals with health training. oral (for example, Oral Hygienists) can do it directly for SO-CSP (sometimes even following their activities in School Health), he concludes.
