 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Medical Forum / General / Dentistry / July 2006Is Dentist Obligated to Give Me Film X-rays?
I recently went to a dentist and had full-mouth x-rays which were saved onto a laptop computer. I asked for copies and was told they couldn't give me graphic files on a disk; I could only get a printout. I'm concerned that the printout will be of low quality and not readable by another dentist. Is this a legitimate concern? Were the x-rays also saved to film, and should I insist on the negative? Are they obligated to provide it? Are they lying about not having graphic files available? > I recently went to a dentist and had full-mouth x-rays which were saved > onto a laptop computer. I asked for copies and was told they couldn't [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > should I insist on the negative? Are they obligated to provide it? Are > they lying about not having graphic files available? I don't have digital x-rays in my office, but it's hard to believe they couldn't be copied onto a CD. If the printer is good the quality of the printouts should be of acceptable quality however. There is no "film" record as such--what they put in your mouth is a sensor, and the file is erased as soon as it is re-exposed. I have heard that some of the digital x-ray systems have their own proprietary format and might not be readable by a dentist who doesn't have the same program on his/her computer. Many use .jpg files, but not all. Steve It could be they do not know how to do this with their particular software. Some images are saved in a proprietary format so even if you get them on a disk you would not be able to read them unless you had the reader software. Also x-rays in some cases could be emailed. Finally I would have to say that the printed copies should be enough to see anything so I would not worry and not get too uptight about this. > > I recently went to a dentist and had full-mouth x-rays which were saved > > onto a laptop computer. I asked for copies and was told they couldn't [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Steve > stan8005@aol.com wrote: > I recently went to a dentist and had full-mouth x-rays which were saved [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > should I insist on the negative? Are they obligated to provide it? Are > they lying about not having graphic files available? I believe that legally, they are within their rights to only give you a printout. I would not worry about it unless the other dentist complains about the quality, and then have the new dentist request a better image if they need it. I don't think they are saved to film. I think that would not be very be cost efficient to pay for a digital x-ray machine and also make negatives. > It could be they do not know how to do this with their particular > software. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Finally I would have to say that the printed copies should be enough to > see anything so I would not worry and not get too uptight about this. Thanks for clearing this up, Alex! Steve >>>I recently went to a dentist and had full-mouth x-rays which were saved >>>onto a laptop computer. I asked for copies and was told they couldn't [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >> >>Steve  SignatureMark & Steven Bornfeld DDS http://www.dentaltwins.com Brooklyn, NY 718-258-5001 In Pennsylvanai we must send the x-rays to the new dentist .... never to the patient -- Joel34 Both places ... Pennsylvanai and Pennsylvania -- Joel34 > Both places ... Pennsylvanai and Pennsylvania. > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Joel344's Profile: http://dentalcom.net/forum/member.php?userid=12 > View this thread: http://dentalcom.net/forum/showthread.php?t=4629 Isn't that somewhere out near Harrisburg? - dentaldoc > In Pennsylvanai we must send the x-rays > to the new dentist .... never to the patient! Sounds like that episode of Seinfeld where Elaine couldn't see her own medical records. Steve >I recently went to a dentist and had full-mouth x-rays which were saved >onto a laptop computer. I asked for copies and was told they couldn't [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >should I insist on the negative? Are they obligated to provide it? Are >they lying about not having graphic files available? I believe it depends on which state you live in. Also it depends on the office and their inclination. I asked for xrays (in California) which I knew were digital and I thought it would be easy to give me a copy of the digital file. They said they did not know how to get it to a disk or send it to me via e-mail. I said I'd show them. They declined my offer. They gave me a print out which was so bad that the dentist who needed it could not use it and he had to take another xray. He gave me the new xray for free so I did not complain, though I hate getting more xrays than I really need. Despite what some say, NO amount of xray is without negative impact on health. Nevertheless I have found that now that digital xrays exist, dentists give out xrays like candy. I've had several turn out not so good so they just take more, until they get it right and no concern is given as to giving more xrays. I know the amount of exposure is low these days but there is evidence that even these low amounts are hazardous to health. Sorry, I went off on a tangent there re xrays... The point is, they may not be required to give you the digital files of your xrays. I do think you can demand that the receving dentist get a GOOD copy, though, although one dentist told me that would cost $25. At least when the patient gets x-rays they are wearing a lead apron the office staff does not wear an apron and takes all these x-rays on patients all day. So if you are going to talk about scattered radiation just remember the health hazzard to the employees as well. If the hazzard was significant nobody would be taking these x-rays. Also with digital x-rays and the problems with the size of the sensor, a lot of times I am in the room holding the sensor getting exposed. > >I recently went to a dentist and had full-mouth x-rays which were saved > >onto a laptop computer. I asked for copies and was told they couldn't [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > of your xrays. I do think you can demand that the receving dentist get > a GOOD copy, though, although one dentist told me that would cost $25. > At least when the patient gets x-rays they are wearing a lead apron > the office staff does not wear an apron and takes all these x-rays on [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Also with digital x-rays and the problems with the size of the sensor, > a lot of times I am in the room holding the sensor getting exposed. ___________________________________ Oops! Not exactly kosher under California law. When you passed your California licensure exam, you successfully completed the section of the exam which details the California laws regarding employees and xrays. The law mandates that the dental personnel cannot even be in the same room as the patient during the xray exposure, unless the dental personnel are properly shielded. For example, the dental personnel are allowed in the same room if they stand behind one of those 6-foot-high wheeled movable shields with the leaded-glass window, like the ones used in some hospital xray rooms. The law also prohibits the regular use of dental personnel to hold the sensor or film. A friend or a relative of the patient can be used to hold the sensor, if that person wears proper shielding, but dental office personnel can't do it as a regular part of their jobs. The reasoning behind the law is that neither the patient nor the relative will be in a position to be exposed day after day as a part of their employment. In order to protect what the state calls the "DHCW" (dental health care worker), laws have been put into place to keep dentists and employees out of the xray room during sensor exposure. Unfortunately, it is common for well-meaning and compassionate dentists to be reported to the State by some disgruntled ex-employee. The regulatory agencies don't seem to care that the employee has selfish motives. The State will often impose fines and other discipline in order to set an example to emphasize the State's authority. When it comes to the State wanting to show its power, arguments regarding the miniscule amount of radiation received are irrelevant. Politics ALWAYS triumph over science. Best regards, - dentaldoc That section was not part of the exam I took. I do not make my employees stand in the room they do it voluntarly. and facing away from the cone. I've had the tech that installed my panorex calibrate the machine and he was holding the intensifying screen (you can see the x-rays light up the sceen like a flashlight) in his hand while adjusting the machine and I'm sure he does this regularly. Also most of my patients are uncordinanted adults and don't bring a family member with them. So we can discuss safety all you want but what do you do to get a proper x-ray for treatment??? keep radiating the patient a hundred times(exagerating here) because they cant hold the film steady in their mouth??? The point I was trying to make was that it is easy to critisize dentists for snaping x-rays left and right without realizing that the risk is on both sides and the idea is to get a diagnostic x-ray with minimum exposure and to do that sometimes it takes multiple exposures and in some circumstances someone needs to be in the room to get the job done right. Seriously what would you do after 3 attempts to get an x-ray on a patient that is in severe pain and can not hold the x-ray properly and is getting ansy telling you I'm not doing that x-ray thing again? Do you kick them out of your practice in pain, do you do the work blind possibly commiting malpractice, or do you go into the room and hold the sensor/film??? > > At least when the patient gets x-rays they are wearing a lead apron > > the office staff does not wear an apron and takes all these x-rays on [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > Best regards, > - dentaldoc p.s. One time I had an attorney walk out not letting us finish taking a Full mouth x-ray because he had a severe gag reflex and could not hold the sensor even with someone in the room doing it for him. And he needed to have lots of work done, I doubt I could even get him to do these x-rays even on a periodic basis. Talk about risk and being the one to blame when something goes wrong or even having an x-ray for insurance billing etc.... > That section was not part of the exam I took. > I do not make my employees stand in the room they do it voluntarly. and [quoted text clipped - 68 lines] > > Best regards, > > - dentaldoc >>I recently went to a dentist and had full-mouth x-rays which were saved >>onto a laptop computer. I asked for copies and was told they couldn't [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > of your xrays. I do think you can demand that the receving dentist get > a GOOD copy, though, although one dentist told me that would cost $25. I have no idea how big a problem proprietary formatting (Alex mentioned this) of the image is. But I can tell you that I have never gotten a digital file from any dentist (usually an endodontist) for x-rays on a patient. I get paper printouts. The early ones seemed to be on some kind of thermal paper that faded pretty badly in a few months, but lately the images I get back are pretty good. I've also been able to use these images (either scanned or the physical print) for insurance purposes without problems. Steve SignatureMark & Steven Bornfeld DDS http://www.dentaltwins.com Brooklyn, NY 718-258-5001 |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.