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We often ask our government to protect us from stuff. Take the Texas Radiation Control Board, they make sure we don’t get more radiation than we’re supposed to get when we go to the dentist.
But you now government, give them an inch and they take a mile.
Texas dentists have been sounding the alarm about the state x-ray inspectors. They used to make an appointment, but now they have started showing up unannounced. How would you like to be stuck in the dentist’s chair in the middle of a root canal when that happens?
When dentists complain they get fined. A Magnolia Doctor Eric Sanders told inspectors to come back when he wasn’t busy and got a $4,000 fine. Now the State is going after a supposed conspiracy to interfere with their work.
The Department of State Health Services claims a radiation equipment inspection company called RSI told dental clients not to admit inspectors into their clinics when the inspectors showed up unannounced. DSHS is trying to fine RSI with a $20,000 administrative fine!
Really?
On Wednesday, November 7 th , there will be a showdown in Austin, a formal hearing before a Texas Administrative law judge.
We expect a roomful of dentists will show up because they have had enough and are fighting back. They say they are fed up with inspectors showing up at their office anytime they feel like, regardless if the dentist has a waiting room full of patients or not. Why don’t these inspectors have rules and procedures they are supposed to be following when “scheduling” these inspections. Or do they and are just ignoring it?
And what’s all the fuss about dental x-ray machines?
Dolcefino Consulting can’t find a single case where any Texas dental patient has been exposed to more dental x-ray radiation than they are supposed to be.
“You get more radiation at the airport on a trip from Houston to New York,” says Dr. Eric Sanders.
“I thought this was Texas where we don’t like wasteful government regulation,” says Wayne Dolcefino, President of Dolcefino Consulting. “Is this about safety or is this about money.”
The Radiation Control Board budget was $9 million dollars this year. In the last year the State has collected over $600 thousand dollars in fines, virtually all of it for paperwork stuff.
We will be in Austin Wednesday to see what happens. If you must reschedule an appointment because your dentist got parlayed by unannounced inspections, can you send a bill to the State of Texas?
Didn’t think so.
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