If you have any questions or concerns about a possible dismissal, seek advice before proceeding. CDA members have free access to the IDC Risk Management Advice Line. Remember that careful patient case selection, complete or complete documentation, and clear communication are essential to minimize your risk. You can provide your patients with payment plans and give them time to pay for expensive treatments, especially if those patients are uninsured. However, if a patient breaks your consent and your collection efforts are futile, you have no obligation to keep them as a patient or continue to provide dental care. To properly complete a patient, a certified letter with acknowledgment of receipt should be sent to the person with the following information. (The date on which the cancellation begins (“from ____”).) Give a reason why you are ending the relationship. State the reason in an objective and not inflammatory way, such as a loss of trust or confidence, failure to meet financial obligations, or many missed appointments that affect the outcome of treatment. Allow a reasonable amount of time to cover emergencies, from two weeks to two months, depending on the location of the practice and the ease of seeing another doctor. Not sure if you should ask for dismissal? Here are some common and acceptable indicators for a dentist to consider when discharging a patient for treatment: 6.
Graskemper J. A New Perspective on Dental Errors: Improving Practice through Risk Management. J Am Dent Assoc. 2002;133(6):752-757. Vermeiden Sie jeden weiteren Kontakt. After the stoppage date, it is important to inform staff not to make further appointments with the discharged patient. If patients have manifested or threatened violence, office staff should develop protocols to manage unexpected patient visits, especially if there is a potential safety risk. Once the emergency care schedule has expired and the patient has been completely discharged from the office, the dentist is not obligated to readmit the patient to the office for future treatment. The analyst explained that if the patient could not provide a receipt and the orthodontist could not prove beyond doubt that a cash payment had not been paid, it would be best to review the patient`s application for development.
In the meantime, she was advised to focus on completing treatment until the patient could provide a receipt for cash payment, as repaying the $7,000 without proof that it had already been paid to the office seemed an unreasonable expectation. If you can answer these questions in the affirmative, your dismissal is likely to be motivated by sound legal and ethical reasons. But that`s not all. Familiarize yourself with these extra do`s and don`ts. However, if you are to break the patient-provider relationship, you must first carefully weigh the potential risk and act in accordance with ethical standards of treatment. In addition to state laws and the requirements of dental practice law, the ADA Code of Ethics can guide your decision. Your local dental association should offer advice on the laws governing treatment in your state. During their phone conversation, the orthodontist avoided mentioning again the mother`s failure to comply with the state`s mandate to wear a mask during office visits.
The patient was on time when he showed up for the next appointment, but the mother again refused to wear a mask. The office manager told her that wearing a mask was not optional and asked the parents to wait outside during their son`s appointment. The mother left hesitantly and waited in her car. On her way out, however, she became more combative by slamming the door and shouting profanity at the dentist and staff. • The doctor-patient interpersonal relationship has broken down, leading to a loss of trust.6 In some cases, patients` behavior is so blatant that it would be foolish not to reject them. For example, experts say you have the right to “fire” patients who engage in any of the following behaviors: I was fired by my oral surgeon, who promised to replace 4 defective dental implants he had inserted in 2015 and do bone grafts. I left a negative review on Google and his mngr desktop took a screenshot and showed it to him. He had already started the breastfeeding process when he sent me to a dentist to clean and remove the dentures and clean the implant sites.
The dentist said he couldn`t because they got rid of the bone. went back to the oral surgeon and told him he would make bone diagrams and replace any necessary implants. I didn`t show my butt or my kiss or anything like that in his office. Only one negative review and he released me with 4 infected mobile implants. Can he really do that and not provide emergency care? An anti-defamation clause could read as follows: “During the period [effective date] and thereafter, [the patient] agrees not to take any written or oral action that is intended or reasonably expected to damage the reputation of [the physician or office] or that is likely to result in unsolicited or unfavourable publicity for the [physician or office].” Finally, be sure to send the patient an official discharge letter. It is important to send a printed letter by mail. Never give a patient leave via SMS or email, as this can result in a HIPAA violation and a hefty fine for your practice. • The patient did not show up for scheduled appointments.3 We mention abortion here because it is important to know the difference. This can be difficult if you have a patient who comes for the first part of a root canal treatment and is violent. You risk legal consequences if you refuse to complete the procedure. While it`s important to attract new patients, it can be just as important to recognize when it`s necessary to cut the dentist-patient relationship in your practice. It is a process that can be emotionally tense and delicate.
With that in mind, we`ve created this guide to managing patient discharge with grace – and at the end, we`ll provide you with a link to download a free patient discharge letter template that you can customize for your practice. Your time is precious. Any patient may have difficulty keeping an appointment due to circumstances beyond their control, and understandably so. But a patient who doesn`t consistently show up for scheduled appointments costs your practice time and money. A no-show may be excusable, but repeated non-appearance necessitates discharge of the patient. Your letter should be polite and professional. It is not appropriate to express anger, even if the patient has treated you badly. Stating the reasons for your discharge and including any warnings you have given will protect you in case the patient tries to sue you. Kiran Madesha is a Certified Lawyer at the Law Society of Ontario and serves as legal counsel to dentalcorp on the compliance team.
Kiran holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Liverpool and a Master of Laws with a concentration in Health Law from the University of Toronto. A dentist-patient relationship is a one-way street. As a dentist, you are committed to providing the necessary dental care with professionalism and compassion. In return, the patient agrees to respect your dental treatment recommendations. Constant non-compliance of patients may be a reason for the patient`s discharge. Document. Many factors can lead to patient discharge. Document any concerns that may indicate a breakdown in the dentist-patient relationship, as well as any effort to store this relationship in patient records. As with all files, documentation must be timely and accurate. In the end, termination is best achieved by a letter written by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt or by other means confirming service.
Paste the registered letter and letter into the patient`s chart. After all that has been done to finish a patient, some people actually want to return to practice years later. Patients usually have pain, have cured the problem that led to the interruption and apologize. After termination, the traditional rule was that the dentist is not obligated to provide future care or restore the relationship.8,9 The withdrawal of the patient, if the physician wishes, the doctor-patient relationship begins again. Let us hope that a lasting and trusting relationship will be restored for the benefit of all. It may seem obvious, but any patient who is physically or verbally abusing you or your staff should not be welcome in your practice. People are allowed to get emotional, but someone who can`t control their behavior and puts you or your employees at risk is not allowed to come back. Not all office discharges result from inappropriate patient behaviour. Sometimes they are related to factors in your background or your practice as a whole. For example, you may not have the advanced skills to treat someone properly. Or you may lack the mental or physical capacity to deal with the person or open yourself to an ethical or legal conflict through treatment.
After all, the personalities of the dentist and the patient can collide. If you don`t work well with one person, you may want to refer the patient to another dentist inside or outside your office who has a more compatible temperament. When the orthodontist informed the patient of the outstanding account balance and the absence of recent payments, the patient maintained that she had already paid her account balance in full.