TMVI practice standard replaced by new “Blood borne viruses practice standard”
The Dental Council’s transmissible major viral infections (TMVI) practice standard has been reviewed and updated. There are no new obligations for practitioners resulting from this update.
The key change relates to the name of the practice standard – now changed to Blood borne viruses practice standard. Throughout the document, the term blood borne viruses “BBV” now replaces previous references to “TMVI”.
The new title and terminology more accurately describe the subject matter of the practice standard and align with the collective term commonly used for hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by the Ministry of Health and other international bodies.
Other minor updates include:
- reformatting to “Standards” and “Guidance” structure to match the format of other Dental Council practice standards
- inserting additional guidance in relation to Standard 4 (note: this guidance expands current processes followed by the Council’s BBV panel but does not introduce new practitioner obligations).
The review was undertaken as part of the Council’s regular review of its practice standards to ensure they remain fit for purpose. In particular, this review considered whether any changes to the clinical management of TMVI infected patients needed to be reflected in the TMVI practice standard.
The Council reviewed international guidelines and sought expert clinical opinion from Professor Ed Gane, Internal Medicine Specialist and clinical member on the Council’s TMVI (now BBV) panel.
The Council accepted the minor changes outlined above at its May 2022 meeting.
Practitioners should familiarise themselves with the updated Blood borne viruses practice standard available on our website.