News You Can Use

September 4, 2022

CR-103 Filed to Regulate the Use of Anesthesia in a Dental Setting

The Board of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery (board) is adding a new section, WAC 246-853-655, to regulate the use of anesthesia in a dental setting. This is an area that is currently unregulated by the board. Osteopathic physicians can currently provide anesthesia services in dental offices unregulated, as anesthesia services are within the scope of practice for all osteopathic physicians. Regulating the provision of anesthesia in a dental setting will place the board in an active patient safety role.

The Washington Medical Commission (WMC) recently adopted dental anesthesia rules. The board works to remain consistent with WMC rules, as osteopathic and allopathic physicians regularly provide care in the same settings. Furthermore, striving for consistency with WMC makes rules easier for licensees to understand and comply with in the complex healthcare regulatory environment. The new section mirrors the WMC rules, except that these proposed rules require the osteopathic physician also to complete an anesthesiology residency. The board believes specific anesthesiology training is necessary to ensure the safety of patients.

The new section will promote effective perioperative communication and appropriately timed interventions, establish competency requirements, and mitigate adverse events and outcomes. 

The new section will benefit the public’s health by ensuring participating providers are informed and regulated by current national industry and best practice standards.

The board adopted the new rule section at a virtual public rules hearing held on June 3, 2022. The board thanks everyone who participated in this rulemaking process.

The board filed a CR-103 as WSR #22-17-111 on August 22, 2022, to finalize the new rules. No comments were received regarding the rules, which will be effective 9/22/2022. 

Please direct any questions regarding this rule adoption to Becky McElhiney at 360-236-4766 or osteopathic@doh.wa.gov.

ESSB 5229 Health Equity - CR 102 Filled, Rules Hearing Scheduled

The Department of Health has filed a CR-102, proposed rule, regarding minimum standards for health equity continuing education training programs. 

In 2021, legislature passed Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill (ESSB) 5229. This bill directs the department to create minimum standards for health equity continuing education that health professionals must take every four years. The department held four listening sessions and four rule workshops to help develop proposed rules for minimum standards for health equity continuing education. The proposed rules create four new sections in chapter 246-12 WAC to implement RCW 43.70.613. The proposed rules require completion of two hours of health equity continuing education every four years for all health professionals credentialed under RCW 18.130.040 with a continuing education requirement. The proposed rules also require that the two continuing education hours include implicit bias training to identify strategies to reduce bias during assessment and diagnosis.

You may provide your comments on the proposed rule in the following ways:

Submit written comments through September 29, 2022, using one of the following options:

• The Department of Health online rules comment web page
• The U.S. mail: Attn: Ashley Bell, PO Box 47843, Olympia, WA 98504

The rules hearing is scheduled for September 29, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. There is only a virtual attendance option available for this meeting. 

In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the department will not provide a physical location for this public hearing. This promotes social distancing and helps provide for the safety of citizens of Washington State. A virtual public hearing, without a physical meeting space, will be held instead.

Register in advance for this webinar Here

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Important Information for the Rules Hearing:

• If attending virtually, in order to give verbal testimony during the rules hearing, you will need to access the meeting using your computer, laptop, or device. Your computer, laptop, or device must have speakers and a microphone to give verbal testimony.
• If attending virtually and select to use only your phone, an option given during registration, Zoom will automatically enter you into the meeting in ‘listen-only’ mode. The application cannot unmute individual callers who select to use only their phone to access the meeting.
• If you are unable to use a computer or phone to access the meeting virtually and wish to provide testimony, please submit written testimony to healthequityimplementation@doh.wa.gov.

For more information, please contact:

Ashley Bell Behavioral Health Programs Coordinator Health Systems Quality Assurance Washington State Department of Health Ashley.Bell@doh.wa.gov

The Department of Health thanks those who have provided experiences related to inequities in the health care system as well as those who provided their expertise in health inequity throughout this process. 

Documents:

CR-102CR-102

Proposed Rules

Significant Analysis

Bill language

The Washington Osteopathic Medical Association