AHPRA / DBA 2013 annual report released

The 2012/13 annual report of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and the National Boards has been published.

For the dental profession, the report reveals that:
• 19,912 dental practitioners were registered at the end of June 2013, an increase of 8.7% since national registration data was first published in June 2011
• 1052 notifications (concerns/complaints) were received about dental practitioners and of these 586 were lodged outside of NSW (which has a co-regulatory system)
• 1075 notifications were closed nationally by 30 June 2013, 522 of these were managed outside of NSW
• of the 522 cases closed under the National Scheme, practitioners were fined in two cases.

Of the remainder, the Dental Board of Australia determined to:

• take no further action or that the case was to be handled by the relevant health complaints entity who initially received the notification, or referred to another body for action in 422 cases 
• caution or reprimand the practitioner in 64 cases, and 
• impose conditions on a dental practitioner’s registration or accept an undertaking in 34 cases 

The report also notes that:
• the Board established an Oral Surgery Panel to provide advice to the Board on the specialty of oral surgery; and,
• Guidelines on supervision for dental practitioners were finalised and published after consultation.