Imagine the 32 year female in your office on a typical morning. My patient was new and was referred because of medical history issues that included a seizure disorder. No sooner had I entered the room...
Dentists know that drugs are helpful for patients but that some care must always be given to make sure that the entire spectrum of activity of a drug is considered. We spend a lot of our clinical form...
A common challenge that all of my colleagues and I face is to make sure that our patients medical and pharmacology histories are up to date and accurate. This is important because many of the common ...
Dr. Tom F. Cockerell, Jr. is a 1979 graduate of the Dental School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He also earned his M.Ed. degree at Texas Christian University. Since 1980 Dr. Cockerell has conducted a practice in Fort Worth, Texas with a particular focus on patients with special needs. Texas Special Care Dentistry was established in 1981.
He and his wife Patti have been married for 43 years, and have three children and one grandson. He plays bass guitar in the TCC jazz band and a few scruffy rock bands. And he is currently learning ancient Greek and continues to study sciences and history. He and his wife dutifully and affectionately care for a 110 year old home near the TCU area of Fort Worth.
Dr. Cockerell is the primary designer of Dental Symphony, an online software used by dentists around the U.S. to enable safe care of dental patients. His experience dealing with the medically-compromised and challenging patient led to his conception and development of Dental Symphony. He also assembled and convened the Clinical Team and serves as its moderator.
Dr. Cockerell continues a legacy of health care in Fort Worth. His father, Tom Cockerell, Sr. D.D.S. has practiced dentistry in Fort Worth for over 60 years and his mother, Gwendolyn Fouts, practiced as a Registered Nurse for many years also while maintaining a home for five children.
My patient was new and was referred because of medical history issues that included a seizure disorder. No sooner had I entered the room to visit with the patient and her mother then indeed she had a seizure. Her mother assured me that it was typical and would resolve shortly. Forty five minutes later she was transported from my office to the hospital. Still seizing.
During the first few minutes we provided supportive care allowing her to seize without hurting herself. We were calm because her Mom was calm. But after a few minutes her Mom began to say she was a little surprised that the seizure had not ended. I directed my staff to attach a blood pressure cuff and pulse oximeter and we began low volume O2. Vital signs were normal and O2 saturation was within normal limits.
EMS arrived at about twenty minutes into the episode. The patient was still seizing. The first question the EMS technician asked was about the medical history.We were ready.Available to me at the chair was a complete medical history and drug history. I had it printed and recited it to the EMS technician.
While we were waiting for the EMS to arrive we followed an on screen prompting program for managing a patient having a seizure. The program was initiated during the first few minutes of the episode and the entire office was quietly informed that there was an emergency occurring and each persons job was put in front of them on each computer monitor in the office. Rather than scurrying down the hall causing alarm, in the patients room we pressed the emergency button and the process was followed. We were practiced and ready.
As soon as one pressed one of these buttons a pathway is taken to manage the patient. And importantly as one moves from this point all computers in the dental office will have a notice popup informing of the emergency and providing prescribed job of each staff person.
Using a prescribed and practiced system to prepare for emergencies just makes sense. Having your staff ready for emergencies takes some time but it well worth it. All emergencies should be prepared for. Know how your staff will manage chest pain,