G ove r n men t Re lat ions
New requirements for reporting convictions to the SBOD
Governor Wolf signed Act 6 of 2018 into law, which requires
licensees to report certain convictions to licensing boards within
30 days. Additionally, licensees may now request that the Bureau
of Professional and Occupational Affairs (BPOA) expunge
disciplinary records if certain conditions are met. Licensees do
not have to report summary drug and alcohol-related offenses,
but most of those charges would rise above the level of a
summary offense and would need reported. Licensees need to
send a letter to the board within 30 days (if the licensee is not
applying for relicensure within 30 days. If that is the case, the
licensee must answer “yes” to the question of whether or not
he/she was convicted of a crime) and the board would then
require the licensee to submit certified documentation.
Department of Banking and Securities Alerts SBOD to
Rise in Elder Abuse
Officials from the Investor Education and Consumer Outreach
Office at the Department of Banking and Securities (Department)
presented information about the rising trend of elder abuse in
Pennsylvania, particularly by individuals (including family)
(continued on page 10)
Update – Authorization to Take
Radiographs in the Dental Office
In the March/April issue, the “Did You Know?” section
featured information pertaining to dental auxiliary
personnel obtaining authorization to take radiographs
in the dental office. Soon after the issue was mailed,
PDA staff received notice that the procedure for
authorization has changed.
Dental auxiliary personnel are still required to pass the
radiological procedure examination adopted by the
State Board of Dentistry (SBOD), however they are no
longer required to submit an “Authorization to Perform
Radiological Procedures” application or pay a fee. With
the 2018 transition to PALS, the SBOD will no longer be
registering auxiliary personnel or issuing any document
authorizing auxiliary personnel to apply ionizing
radiation in the office of a dentist. Personnel who have
already registered with the SBOD will continue to be
able to verify their registration in PALS as evidence of
their authority to perform radiologic procedures.
Going forward, any individual who has passed the
Board’s radiologic procedures examination may
perform radiologic procedures on the premises of and
under the direct supervision of a licensed dentist.
Evidence of having passed the required exam should
be retained by the auxiliary personnel and the
licensed dentist as evidence of the individual’s
authority to perform radiologic procedures.
The examination currently adopted by the board is the
Dental Assisting National Board’s (DANB) Radiation
Health and Safety exam. Prior to adopting DANB, the
board’s examination was administered by Experior
Assessments/Thompson Prometric/Prometric.
If an individual is unable to provide proof of having
previously registered with the board, or having passed
the applicable exam, that individual would need to
take and pass the DANB exam prior to performing
radiologic procedures.
SBOD regulations regarding the performance of
radiologic procedures by auxiliary personnel can be
found at: https://www.pacode.com/secure/
data/049/chapter33/subchapDtoc.html.
For questions, please contact the PDA Central Office
at 800-223-0016 or email [email protected].
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