Why dentist offices are taking patients' pictures?

"Smiling" may not be the only thing you are asked to do at your next dental appointment.  You may also be asked to say "cheese."

When patients arrive at our practice, they now have their picture taken with a digital camera. The photographs help to put faces with names and also protect our patients identities. It's also meant to cut down on insurance fraud.  There are people out there that do not have insurance that will get a friend's insurance card, bring it in and pass it off as themselves.  So the photographs are to protect our patient's privacy and insurance benefits.

Taking photographs are all part of a new federal healthcare law.  Doctors and dental offices are not going to have a choice before long.  Offices must follow many federal guidelines that mandate a switch to electronic medical record keeping, also known as E.M.R.  Instead of writing in the charts, it's getting rid of paper.  This means everything is in the computer and regulated by federal guidelines and mandates.  There are guidelines for just about everything that we have to do.

The photos are simply an added safety precaution.  With the ongoing healthcare debate in Washington, D.C., the medical industry really isn't sure if the federal guidelines will change.  So for now it's smile and say "cheese."