Patient Management & Ethics Flashcards
6 cards from real ADAT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Patient Management & Ethics flashcards as text
A medically compromised patient with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes presents for elective crown placement. What is the best course of action?
Answer: Consult with the patient's physician to optimize glycemic control before elective treatment
Poorly controlled diabetes impairs wound healing and immune response; physician consultation to optimize HbA1c before elective procedures reduces surgical risk.
Which modification is recommended for a patient on long-term corticosteroid therapy undergoing a major dental surgical procedure?
Answer: Consider steroid supplementation ('stress dosing') to prevent adrenal crisis
Long-term corticosteroid use suppresses the HPA axis; supplemental 'stress doses' of steroids may be needed for major procedures to prevent adrenal insufficiency and crisis.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), what obligation does a dental office have regarding patients with physical disabilities?
Answer: Provide reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access to dental services
Title III of the ADA requires dental offices (as places of public accommodation) to provide reasonable accommodations and remove barriers to ensure equal access for disabled individuals.
A patient with moderate intellectual disability can communicate preferences but may not fully understand complex treatment risks. Who should provide informed consent?
Answer: The legal guardian, with the patient's assent sought to the extent possible
When a patient lacks decision-making capacity, the legal guardian provides informed consent, but the patient's assent (agreement expressed at their level of understanding) should still be sought.
What is the primary ethical concern with a dentist recommending a treatment that generates higher fees when a lower-cost alternative would achieve the same clinical outcome?
Answer: Conflict of interest and potential violation of beneficence and patient autonomy
Recommending more expensive treatment without clinical justification creates a conflict of interest, undermines beneficence (acting in the patient's best interest), and compromises autonomy by distorting the information provided.
A patient requests copies of their dental records to transfer to a new provider. Under HIPAA, within how many days must the dental office comply?
Answer: 30 days (with one 30-day extension if needed)
HIPAA's Privacy Rule requires covered entities to provide patients access to their records within 30 days of the request, with one possible 30-day extension if needed.