Evening the playing field...

[SirBrotherJam]

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From r/dentistry: (not OP)

It feels like being a dentist you're constantly fighting uphill battles - when it comes to patients, state boards, insurance companies - whether or not they are warranted. We had our compliance meeting yesterday and some of the stories were unreal. It's almost as if we have the proverbial "sword of Damocles" hanging over our heads where everything is our responsibility, our fault and our headache despite the fact that when dealing with the general public it's inevitable you're going to run into some of the worst people imaginable. Here are a couple of proposals I have to even the playing field

• If a patient is going to leave a negative review about an experience they had they forfeit their HIPAA protections. The patient was the one volunteering their information and the dentist should be allowed to respond. A lot of us have our reputation and our livelihood tied to our practice therefore all bets are off if the patient wants to drag their grievances onto a public forum.
• The state board should function to address egregious acts of misconduct only. The fact that literally ANYONE can write a complaint about ANYTHING is ridiculous. If the complaint is dismissed then the patient should be forced to pay damages to the dentist they accused. Also, patients should be allowed to waive their rights concerning the standard of care provided that it's explained to them in writing. I'm not arguing with patients who don't want routine radiographs because it involves putting my license on the line. If certain adults want to act like "customers" instead of "patients" then they can deal with the consequences.
• Dental societies at the state, county and city level should be allowed to essentially unionize when it comes to bargaining with insurance companies. The only reason people are willing to accept the insulting PPO reimbursements out there is because we worry about the practice down the street undercutting us. If the majority of dentists in Boston decide to drop XYZ insurance then EVERY dentist in Boston has to drop XYZ insurance. If the majority of dentists in Suffolk County decide to drop XYZ insurance then EVERY dentist in Suffolk County has to drop XYZ insurance. If the majority of dentists in Massachusetts decide to drop XYZ insurance...you get the idea. This should be by direct vote so it's not only less corruptible but it also gives associates a voice in the matter as well.

Curious what you guys think?

 

[omgomfs]

good ideas… but how realistic in implementation of these ideas?

 

[Boat on the Chesapeake]

I feel like I don’t personally stress about those these things much but I’m sure many dentists do. I feel like state, OSHA, HIPAA, and CDC regulations are an uphill battle. There’s too much minutiae to be in 100% compliance if they really wanted to get you, even with good faith efforts and good systems in place.

1. HIPAA or not you can choose to respond politely or responded critically to google reviews. Google reviews are an annoying game in modern business but if you play the game and ask for positive reviews from happy patients regularly then a few negative reviews barely show up.

2. I haven’t had to deal with a board complaint personally yet so I don’t have strong feelings on it. But it probably varies a lot by state how important frivolous board complaints are taken. Frivolous being “my lower denture doesn’t fit” vs important stuff like injuries that they should be investigating.

3. The union thing would have potential if it were legal (I forget what the term is but some law that keeps us from cooperating to fix prices). The way it’s described wouldn’t you be forced to take insurances the union votes on? Fee for service dentists probably wouldn’t want to live in a city where they’re forced by a union to take insurances. A union within DSOs like Aspen or Heartland might have some helpful aspects idk.

 

[Let me out!]

I don't think this is an uphill battle. It's an impossible battle.

DSO will find every possible way to beat out private practices even if it costs them negative for the time being. DSOs literally accept every insurance out there and if you are working in one you'll know that they will bend backwards to meet the demands of those insurance companies.