RDA (Other exams): A Divorced Parent, a Subpoena, and a Wrong Tooth

Do not answer either request over the phone, and do not let payment decide the question.

• Payment is not the test. The right of access turns on the parent's legal status and state law, not on who writes the cheque. Paying the bill is not consent to release records, and refusing to pay is not a basis for withholding them.
• Sole legal custody does not automatically strip the father of access. HIPAA treats a parent as the minor's personal representative unless a court order or state law says otherwise, and many states allow a non-custodial parent access to a child's records. The court order in the chart needs to be read for what it actually says about records and information, not just custody.
• The process: verify identity, take a written request, obtain the custody order, and route the file to the dentist and office manager - and to the practice's attorney or the state dental association's advice line if the order is ambiguous. Only the dentist or designated privacy officer releases.
• Handle the daughter's own rights too: an adolescent may consent to certain services in your state, and those records may carry extra protection.
• Document both calls, what was requested, and what was decided, and keep the same answer for both parents.

A subpoena is a party's request; it is not automatically a court order to disclose.

• Under HIPAA, the practice needs either a valid patient authorization or satisfactory assurances - a qualified protective order, or a written statement that the patient has been notified and the time to object has passed. Neither is in this file.
• So the answer is not yes, and it is not no: it is date-stamp it, log it, and hand it to the dentist/office manager to route to counsel. The assistant does not decide scope or release.
• Check that the patient named is actually your patient. Subpoenas frequently carry a misspelled name or a records request for the wrong family member. Verify against the chart before anything else happens.
• Do not trim the chart. If the dentist is advised to release, the whole record goes - selectively copying out entries invites an accusation that records were altered.
• Watch the deadline but do not panic into disclosure. Deadlines are answered with a response from counsel or the custodian of records, and a short written acknowledgement protects the practice.
• Document receipt, the date, who was notified, and the eventual decision.

Correct in a way that leaves the original legible, and chase every place the wrong tooth number landed.

• Never erase, use correction fluid, overwrite, or backdate. That turns a clerical slip into a credibility problem the moment the record is produced in a claim or a suit.
• Paper: draw a single line through the erroneous entry so it stays readable, write 'error,' initial and date it, then add a new, dated entry stating the restoration was on #12, with the material and the dentist's name.
• Electronic record: add an addendum. Do not edit or delete the original entry; the audit trail will show it.
• The chart is not the only place. The treatment plan, the fee schedule, and the insurance claim all reference #13. The claim must be corrected with the carrier if it has been submitted - an incorrect tooth number on a claim is a billing accuracy issue, not just a charting one.
• Tell the dentist and the front desk rather than quietly fixing the chart and leaving a mismatch downstream.
• Look for the cause: if the dentist calls teeth by number and the assistant charts without confirming against the radiograph, add a read-back. One wrong tooth is a slip; a pattern is a system problem.