Are You Prepared for a Medical Emergency in Your Dental Office?
HealthFirst offers dental practices automated, comprehensive medical emergency preparedness
Over the past few years, dental offices have been faced with their fair share of challenges—from COVID-related shutdowns and supply shortages to amplified infection control measures and fewer patients in the chair. Luckily, the dental community has shown incredible perseverance despite these challenges and today is thriving like never before. While it may be impossible to prepare for the next global healthcare crisis, dental practices can easily prepare themselves for an in-office medical emergency.
“I like that everything comes in one kit, which is great—rather than trying to source multiple items from different vendors.”
--Meghan Wilhelmi, DMD
Medical emergency preparedness is made simple by partnering with HealthFirst, which provides the products, services, and training required to be prepared for medical emergencies—including emergency medical kits equipped with everything needed to intervene before medical assistance arrives. “Safety is our No. 1 priority,” said HealthFirst customer Dr. Meghan Wilhelmi, no doubt echoing the thoughts of dental practitioners everywhere. “Knowing that we have all the necessary medications needed to intervene in an emergency is huge. We definitely like having that piece of mind.”
Patient safety is especially important to pediatric dentist Dr. Wilhelmi, a native New Englander who practices at the office of her childhood dentist, Dr. Eugene Mickey, located in Stoneham, MA. “I worked in the practice throughout college and dental school and took over almost 6 years ago,” she said. “I was one of Dr. Mickey’s first patients and he’s actually the reason I decided to become a pediatric dentist. It’s funny because I see a lot of parents come in with their kids now who used to be patients here themselves, so it’s really come full circle.”
HealthFirst Emergency Medical Kits
Over 40,000 dental offices are equipped with HealthFirst emergency medical kits, which help manage emergency preparedness and compliance in a cost-effective way.
“I like that everything comes in one kit, which is great—rather than trying to source multiple items from different vendors. So, it’s been very convenient to have HealthFirst,” said Dr. Wilhelmi, who noted that fortunately, her office has not needed to use their kit.
SM Series basic emergency medical kits include the 6 essential medications cited by ADA guidelines, plus naloxone, ensuring that dental practices are fully prepared for a medical emergency. The addition of nalaxone, which is used to temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, helps support guidance from the U.S. Surgeon General.
“Lately, we’ve been seeing a pretty high number of patients—on a very busy day that can be upwards of 90 to 100 patients,” said Dr. Wilhelmi. “So, it’s nice having that peace of mind not only for our young patients, but also the parents and grandparents who bring them into the office. It’s great to have everything right here that we may need.”
Additionally, HealthFirst keeps each kit up to date through its Auto-Replenishment Service, which uses smart automation to track expiration dates of medications and devices and automatically replenish them before they expire. “I think it’s great that they automatically track everything for you, like the different medications that are stocked in the kit. If there’s an expiration coming up, they will send you a replacement before that date arrives, so you never even have to worry about it,” said Dr. Wilhelmi.
Stay OnTraq
To simplify emergency preparedness even further, there’s an app for that! HealthFirst’s online application, OnTraq, reduces the risks, headaches, and costs of managing emergency preparedness and regulatory compliance. Here’s a peek at what OnTraq provides:
• Up-to-date readiness dashboard that uses a single color-coded view to show whether you are on track or need to take action on emergency medications, devices, spore test results, or medical waste recovery.
• All-in-one view for DSOs, networks, and group practices to see the entire organization’s readiness and compliance status in one view and quickly identify outliers that need attention. • Drill down by service line or facility for granular details.
• Online compliance documentation lets you access medication safety data sheets (SDSs) or dental waste certificates of destruction in your virtual file cabinet.
• Easy task management for assigning tasks, tracking progress, and receiving alerts.
Be Prepared with One Flat Fee
It’s impossible to know which medications or devices will be needed when the practice is faced with a medical emergency. Dental teams are left with no choice but to continually buy and replace emergency medications, a particular challenge when stocking medications with short shelf lives.
The HealthFirst Practice Partner Program puts an end to this uncertainty by allowing dental practices to pay one flat annual fee for each year’s service. Upon signup, offices receive a new emergency medical kit that is replenished by HealthFirst when medications expire or for up to 2 emergency uses per year. This means no more spending money on medications that will quickly expire and no additional fees to worry about over the course the year, as the annual cost includes return envelopes for proper medication disposal.
Additionally, the Practice Partner Program provides access to online CE courses that provide training on the proper use of medications and devices contained in basic emergency medical kits, how to avoid medical emergencies, and 3 different courses that focus on treating patients with chronic conditions like hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.
