As of 24th August 2021 a new exemption will be available to NHS users in Scotland. This will replace the current 'Under 18 years old' and 'Aged 18 and in full-time education' exemptions.
Any NHS plans for patients with an acceptance date on or after 24th August 2021 will require the use of the under 26 exemption where appropriate for the patient. Plans with an acceptance date prior to 24th August should use the appropriate age related exemptions as before.
Using the Exemption:
Users should ensure the correct exemption has first been applied to the patient's record as before. When creating a treatment plan containing NHS treatment, any current exemptions for the patient will be automatically applied. If an age related exemption is not appropriate based on the acceptance date of the plan, it will not be automatically applied.
Where the Exemption is and is not appropriate:
The Under 26 exemption is only appropriate for plans where the treatment plan Acceptance Date is on or after 24th August 2021. Plans with an Acceptance date prior to 24th August 2021 should use the 'Under 18 years old' or 'Aged 18 and in full-time education' where appropriate.
Dentally will not allow the application of an Under 26 exemption to a plan started before 24/08/2021 and an error message will be displayed to explain this if the exemption is applied manually or the acceptance date is changed.
The 'Under 18 years old' or 'Aged 18 and in full-time education' may still be applied to a patient's records, but cannot be applied to plans with an Acceptance Date on or after 24th August 2021.
The appropriate exemption can be selected from the treatment plan settings screen where there needs to be an acceptance date based decision made.
Applying the incorrect exemption for the acceptance date of the plan will result in the following error:
Troubleshooting:
A new treatment plan for an under 26 patient does not have the Under 26 exemption applied:
Check the patient's NHS Exemptions in the NHS tab. Does this patient have the Under 26 exemption applied? This can be added in this tab, using the New Exemption option.
Check the Start Date of the plan, using the 'Treatment Plan Settings' option - this is the gearwheel button at the bottom of the plan. Only plans started on or after 24/08/2021 may use this exemption. The start date can be changed as appropriate in this screen.
A treatment plan started before 24/08/2021 has no exemption, but the patient is under 18 or is 18 and in full-time education:
Check that the patient has the appropriate exemption in their NHS tab. If the patient was added to Dentally after 23/08/2021 and had an under 26 exemption added, an Under 18 exemption can also be applied, but can only be used on plans started before 24/08/2021.
The patient has both an Under 18 and an Under 26 Exemption - which do I use?
The appropriate exemption should be used depending on the acceptance date of the plan. Dentally will automatically apply the under 26 exemption if the acceptance date was after 24/08, but for plans accepted prior to this date which have only just been added to Dentally, the exemption will need to be applied manually.