To amend section 4715.22 of the Revised Code to permit dental hygienists to practice in certain places and to make appropriations to the Departments of Development and Health.

Section 1. That section 4715.22 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 4715.22.  (A) As used in this section, "health care facility" means either of the following:

(1) A hospital registered under section 3701.07 of the Revised Code;

(2) A "home" as defined in section 3721.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) A licensed dental hygienist shall practice under the supervision, order, control, and full responsibility of a dentist licensed under this chapter. A dental hygienist may practice in a dental office, public or private school, health care facility, dispensary, or public institution, nursing home, public or private clinic, mobile dental unit, headstart program or facility, patient home, or other location approved by the state dental board. Except as provided in division (C) or (D) of this section, a dental hygienist may not provide dental hygiene services to a patient when the supervising dentist is not physically present at the location where the dental hygienist is practicing.

(C) A dental hygienist may provide, for not more than fifteen consecutive business days, dental hygiene services to a patient when the supervising dentist is not physically present at the location at which the services are provided if all of the following requirements are met:

(1) The dental hygienist has at least two years and a minimum of three thousand hours of experience in the practice of dental hygiene.

(2) The dental hygienist has successfully completed a course approved by the state dental board in the identification and prevention of potential medical emergencies.

(3) The dental hygienist complies with written protocols for emergencies the supervising dentist establishes.

(4) The dental hygienist does not perform, while the supervising dentist is absent from the location, procedures while the patient is anesthetized, definitive root planing, definitive subgingival curettage, or other procedures identified in rules the state dental board adopts.

(5) The supervising dentist has evaluated the dental hygienist's skills.

(6) The supervising dentist examined the patient not more than seven months prior to the date the dental hygienist provides the dental hygiene services to the patient.

(7) The dental hygienist complies with written protocols or written standing orders that the supervising dentist establishes.

(8) The supervising dentist completed and evaluated a medical and dental history of the patient not more than one year prior to the date the dental hygienist provides dental hygiene services to the patient and, except when the dental hygiene services are provided in a health care facility, the supervising dentist determines that the patient is in a medically stable condition.

(9) If the dental hygiene services are provided in a health care facility, a doctor of medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery who holds a current certificate issued under Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code or a registered nurse licensed under Chapter 4723. of the Revised Code is present in the health care facility when the services are provided.

(10) In advance of the appointment for dental hygiene services, the patient is notified that the supervising dentist will be absent from the location and that the dental hygienist cannot diagnose the patient's dental health care status.

(11) The dental hygienist is employed by, or under contract with, one of the following:

(a) The supervising dentist;

(b) A dentist licensed under this chapter who is one of the following:

(i) The employer of the supervising dentist;

(ii) A shareholder in a professional association formed under Chapter 1785. of the Revised Code of which the supervising dentist is a shareholder;

(iii) A member or manager of a limited liability company formed under Chapter 1705. of the Revised Code of which the supervising dentist is a member or manager;

(iv) A shareholder in a corporation formed under division (B) of section 1701.03 of the Revised Code of which the supervising dentist is a shareholder;

(v) A partner or employee of a partnership or a limited liability partnership formed under Chapter 1775. of the Revised Code of which the supervising dentist is a partner or employee.

(c) A government entity that employs the dental hygienist to provide dental hygiene services in a public school or in connection with other programs the government entity administers.

(D) A dental hygienist may provide dental hygiene services to a patient when the supervising dentist is not physically present at the location at which the services are provided if the services are provided as part of a dental hygiene program that is approved by the state dental board and all of the following requirements are met:

(1) The program is operated through a school district board of education or the governing board of an educational service center; the board of health of a city or general health district or the authority having the duties of a board of health under section 3709.05 of the Revised Code; a national, state, district, or local dental association; or any other public or private entity recognized by the state dental board.

(2) The supervising dentist is employed by or a volunteer for, and the patients are referred by, the entity through which the program is operated.

(3) The services are performed after examination and diagnosis by the dentist and in accordance with the dentist's written treatment plan.

(E) No person shall do either of the following:

(1) Practice dental hygiene in a manner that is separate or otherwise independent from the dental practice of a supervising dentist;

(2) Establish or maintain an office or practice that is primarily devoted to the provision of dental hygiene services.

(F) The state dental board shall adopt rules under division (C) of section 4715.03 of the Revised Code identifying procedures a dental hygienist may not perform when practicing in the absence of the supervising dentist pursuant to division (C) or (D) of this section.

Section 2. That existing section 4715.22 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.

Section 3. All items in this section are hereby appropriated as designated out of any moneys in the state treasury to the credit of the General Revenue Fund. For all appropriations made in this act, those in the first column are for fiscal year 2008 and those in the second column are for fiscal year 2009. The appropriations made in this act are in addition to any other appropriations made for the FY 2008-2009 biennium.

Appropriations

General Revenue Fund

DENTAL EQUIPMENT LOANS

The foregoing appropriation item 195-442, Dental Equipment Loans, shall be used by the Department of Development to provide no-interest loans for the purchase of dental equipment to be used in state defined Dental Professional Shortage Areas to treat underserved populations.

Appropriations

General Revenue Fund

DENTAL PROGRAM

Of the foregoing appropriation item 440-433, Dental Program, $500,000 shall be allocated in fiscal year 2008 and $250,000 shall be allocated in fiscal year 2009 for the purchase of portable dental equipment by county and city health departments that agree to make the portable equipment available to local dental professionals providing basic dental services in facilities such as nursing homes, clinics, hospitals, schools, or other locations; $250,000 shall be allocated in each fiscal year for use in providing financial support for the creation or expansion of accredited dental residency programs that provide dental services to underserved populations; $300,000 shall be granted in each fiscal year to the Ohio State University College of Dentistry for the support of the Ohio Project mobile dental unit; $100,000 shall be granted in each fiscal year to the Ohio State University College of Dentistry for the support of mobile outreach programs designed to provide dental services to underserved populations, including geriatric and indigent patients; $40,000 shall be granted in each fiscal year to the Case School of Dental Medicine for the creation or expansion of mobile outreach programs designed to provide dental services to underserved populations, including geriatric and indigent patients; and $60,000 shall be used in each fiscal year to expand the Dentist Loan Repayment Program operated by the Department of Health.

Within the limits set forth in this act, the Director of Budget and Management shall establish accounts indicating the source and amount of funds for each appropriation made in this act, and shall determine the form and manner in which appropriation accounts shall be maintained. Expenditures from appropriations contained in this act shall be accounted for as though made in the main operating appropriations act of the 127th General Assembly.

The appropriations made in this act are subject to all provisions of the main operating appropriations act of the 127th General Assembly that are generally applicable to such appropriations.

Section 4. This section and Section 3 of this act are not subject to the referendum. Therefore, under Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 1d and section 1.471 of the Revised Code, the sections go into immediate effect when this act becomes law.