The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Dec. 7, 2010 exempting certain businesses, including dental practices, from the Federal Trade Commission’s Red Flags Rule.

The vote passed with no opposition and was signed by President Obama.

The U.S. Senate passed an identical bill on Nov. 30 after work by an American Dental Association-led coalition of 28 dental, medical and business groups.

“This legislation is important for practicing dentists who are mindful of their budget and their time. This rule would have put an unnecessary demand on resources and forced dentists to comply with yet another regulation,” said ADA President Dr. Raymond Gist. “The success of this bill is a good example of how working with coalitions strengthens the ADA’s ability to achieve legislative goals.”

The Red Flags Rule requires financial institutions and creditors to develop a written plan to prevent and detect identify theft. The FTC has said that dentists and other health professionals are creditors subject to the regulation depending on their credit arrangements with patients as defined by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act and must implement a Red Flags program by Jan. 1, 2011.

• Click here to read the article in ADA News

Identity theft precaution resources

In the event legislation did not pass and dentists would indeed be required to comply with the Red Flags Rule, the ADA legal department developed practice management materials to help dental offices comply.

These helpful resources can still be used by dental offices who wish to implement identity theft precautions in their office, even though they may not be required to by law.

• Implementing a plan to prevent and detect identity theft (member log-in required)