Our Future

January has traditionally been the month that the Journal focuses on the California Dental Association, its leadership, and its directions.

Recently, Tim Comstock, CDA executive director, and Judith Babcock, director of the Division of Professional Development and Relations, prepared a column at the request of one of the CDA component dental societies to explain the background to a resolution that was to be reviewed by the annual CDA House of Delegates in November. The resolution called for inclusion of funding for CalDPAC on the CDA dues statement. The House overwhelmingly approved this important change. The delegates clearly understood the increasing importance of the work that the association does in the legislative venues in Sacramento. Legislative advocacy had been identified as a top priority in recent member surveys.

The narrative by Mr. Comstock and Ms. Babcock captures the essence of the real world that dentistry and CDA operate within in the year 2002. Our success or failure in the legislative arena affects the manner in which we conduct our dental practices. Despite a burdensome increase in regulation over time, past political activity by our association can be looked upon with pride and satisfaction.

However, the year 2001 demonstrated the vigor of new threats, including consumer groups using the legal system to attack the use of dental amalgam and other materials in dental practice, and potential legislative initiatives that sought to improve the access to dental care in underserved areas through attempts to circumvent the California licensing process by allowing unaccredited dental school graduates to practice in California. Assaults such as these clearly illustrate the need for legislative advocacy and for educational efforts by the association whenever issues affecting the practice of dentistry arise in the public arena. We must be prepared, and CalDPAC is an essential component of that preparation.

The Comstock-Babcock commentary emphatically describes the importance of not only CalDPAC and our advocacy efforts, but also of other CDA programs and member benefits to our future as a profession, and I include them here for the review by Journal readership.

-- JFC

Why Membership?

An additional dues amount was approved at our House of Delegates in November -- after two years of no increases. Though the increase represents less than the cost of a single prophy, some say now is a bad time to raise any fees.

I don’t know if there is ever a good time to raise dues. Believe me, it isn’t something we do easily or without a great deal of thought. Upon arriving at CDA, I recommended that we raise dues by small increments annually. That suggestion failed. Volunteer leadership wanted to hold the line and asked us to evaluate people, programs, and services instead.

We’ve done that -- exhaustively. We have just reorganized our programs to provide better and more responsive service to our members. We’re surveying our members for their priorities and needs. And we’ve had a year during which the profession has been assaulted by would-be, self-styled consumer activists on a variety of fronts.

The political scene in California right now is as close to one-party rule as the state has had in its modern history. Term limits has resulted in the loss of institutional memory in the Legislature. It has also added to the costs of building relationships within the political hallways of the Capitol. And relationships between human beings form the essence of political success in Sacramento and elsewhere. It always will be so, as long as humans are a part of the equation.

The totality of the dues increase will be dedicated to our advocacy effort on behalf of the dental profession. Every measure of input we get from our members tells us that such advocacy is high on the list of priorities the membership wants the association to sustain. Well, it costs. We’ve done a tremendous job as a mid-level political action team. To even stay even, we will need more resources -- of that there is no doubt.

Will we see an immediate improvement in state-run dental programs? I very much doubt it, because, as we all know, the state has no money for the required boost in fees -- a necessity if those programs are to improve. However, boosting our influence will guarantee that we will participate in the policy-formulating councils in which solutions will be discussed. Experience tells us that without input from dentists there is virtually no chance that quality-based solutions will be implemented.

Added resources will enable us to continue to offer realistic alternatives to unreasonable restrictions and regulations on the dental profession. We will be able to gain concessions for our members, while nonmembers will have to fend for themselves -- much as is occurring in the Proposition 65 ongoing negotiation.

OK, enough justification of the dues increase. Why should one join the tripartite?

CDA has traditionally provided a wide variety of services and programs aimed at benefiting our membership. The tried and tested services include our excellent Scientific Sessions. Held twice a year, the Session provides a vehicle for the greatest exhibition of scientific technology in dentistry while at the same time assisting members (inexpensively) and nonmembers (for a hefty fee) in attaining professional growth and development by offering some of the best educational programs available in the country.

CDA’s Peer Review program, while sometimes perceived by the membership as a cross to bear, is in reality one of the finest services our association offers its membership. In its nearly 30 years of existence, the Peer Review program has successfully handled an average of 1,000 cases a year. Think about it. That’s nearly 30,000 doctor-patient disputes handled through professional self-regulation rather than through the judicial system. Does the process mean that sometimes a dentist is found to be at fault and asked to refund fees and correct problems? Yes, of course. But no one can reasonably argue that four to six months moving through a peer review case process is more troublesome and worrisome than moving through a civil lawsuit. This benefit alone if calculated at an average attorney fee of $2,500 to handle one simple lawsuit (if there is such a thing) means that for the price of membership in CDA our members have not had to pay out $75,000,000 in attorneys’ fees. Yes, that’s $75 million, and that doesn’t include judgment costs. That’s serious money when you think about it. And this doesn’t even count the professional credibility gained by self-policing ourselves to ensure that the patients always come first to our profession.

Another traditional benefit is the excellent advocacy role conducted on behalf of the profession. Monitoring the state Legislature and the Dental Board of California occupies much of CDA staff time and budgetary allocations. Because of those actions, we are Johnny-on-the-spot for issues such as the Dental Materials Fact Sheet, licensure by credential, oral conscious sedation, access to care, and other critical issues that affect your ability to practice in your chosen profession.

Then, of course, we have to consider the less obvious benefits such as CDA’s Regulatory Compliance Manual. If implemented within a dentist’s office, this manual provides a degree of assurance that an office is up to date on all that is required from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Department of Health Services, and other regulatory offices. We monitor those agencies and advise the membership so that valuable dental office time isn’t spend trying to decipher the meaning of Section 1x1x1x1 of the Health and Safety Code. That’s our job.

We can’t discuss CDA benefits without speaking about the CDA flagship of benefits, The Dentists Insurance Company. TDIC and 1201 Financial & Insurance Services, Inc., are the finest examples of for-profit subsidiaries found anywhere in this country. For more than 20 years, TDIC has consistently surpassed expectations by providing the exact service it was created to provide -- that of a stable, reasonably priced malpractice insurance for the CDA membership. No other subsidiary company of any nonprofit has the success record of TDIC. This service is provided only to you, the member. 1201’s fine array of insurance and financial services are designed to provide our members with a one-stop shop for their insurance and business needs. From workers’ compensation insurance to office equipment financing to practice acquisition financing to health care coverage for our members, their families, and their office staff, 1201 constantly seeks to meet the various needs of our members.

This, then, is a brief overview of the "something old" in benefits of CDA membership. Now I want to cover the "something new" we are working on for the membership.

As part of CDA’s applied strategic planning process and in response to member surveys and needs assessments, CDA’s internal structure has undergone a transformation with the single goal of better responding to and meeting the needs of the membership. We heard you when you asked for more types of continuing education and online education. We heard you when you requested that CDA provide more third-party payer assistance and more hands-on information regarding regulatory compliance and personnel matters. We listened when you said you wanted increased marketing activity that not only promotes the image and voice of our profession, but also markets you and the services you provide to the consumer. We understood your request that CDA become the dental source that the public and the Legislature turn to when questions regarding your profession arise. We heard and we responded.

You’ve probably already heard the new marketing program that promotes the new SmileCalifornia Web site for the public to contact with their dental questions. You’ve probably already heard your past presidents, Drs. Jack Broussard and Kent Farnsworth, discuss on the radio CDA’s role in helping consumers answer their dental questions. These activities, plus an enhanced member Web site coming to you soon, are the latest activities undertaken by a renewed and energized Marketing and Communications Division within CDA.

Through a realignment of existing staff, we’ve essentially doubled the number of individuals within CDA who will be an integral part of our advocacy program. Our Division of Public Policy is poised and ready to become as excellent a public policy area as any in the state.

Within the new Membership Services Department, we are creating a member Contact Center for members to get their questions or needs answered more quickly. This member Contact Center, coupled with a Resource Center and a new Learning Center, is aimed at ensuring that our members get the information they need. Whether it is the answer to a relatively simple question or a complete continuing education program on a timely topic, we are committed to providing that service. We are also committed to providing that service via electronic means so that continuing education for you and your staff can be accessed through CDA Online.

Quite simply, a renewed spirit has emerged within the CDA leadership and staff. We are on the verge of unveiling some of these services and working diligently to provide the others. We want to be the place our members and the public come for information. Watch us closely. Use us. Give us a chance to serve. That’s all we ask.

Timothy F. Comstock, Executive Director, California Dental Association

Judith R. Babcock, Director, Division of Professional Development and Relations