Maintaining Our Standards in a Down Economy
October 8th, 2009Our education and training teaches us to provide the best possible treatment to our patients according to the latest standards of care. As we enter the realm of private practice, however, we are constantly challenged by real world conditions of providing high quality, yet cost effective treatment. As a practitioner who has firmly grasped the benefits of incorporating state of the art technology in my treatment options, I am forced to accept the fact that not all patients can afford this ideal service.
As such, we are faced with a moral and ethical dilemma. Do we continue to provide the best care possible, regardless of the cost, or offer less costly alternatives with possible less successful or predictable outcomes?
Dentistry has traditionally been associated with more elective, less “medically nescessary” care. As such, many of the services our profession offers (example dental implants) are not well covered by insurance carriers. And as we are well aware, as there “top tier gasolines”, there are also “top tier” dental and surgical products available. And in most instances, at a premium cost to the practitioner, and ultimately the patient.
Basic econmomic theory is based on supply, demand, overhead and profit. Private practice is, for all intensive purposes, a business entity and must operate successfully on the above concepts. But how does the realities of increased overhead, constasnt or decreasing reimbursement, decreased supply and increased supply affect the way we care for our patients?!
Yes, we are faced with potentially difficult decisions on a daily basis. Each of us has a committment to honor our professional ethics under our professional license. We each need to make a decision of how we can and will offer effective, high quality care within a “realistic” budget both for the practice and the patient.
I can only offer my recommendations as we navigate through this very “interesting” time in our economy and our professional careers:
- Always practice within the boundaries of your professional license.
- Maintain as much continuing education as possible in the services you offer.
- Know your boundaries and limitations. Never be afraid of asking advice or refer to another practitioner with greater knowledge or experience.
- If unable to manage all your complications, be able to recognize those situations and refer accordingly.
- Always listen to your patients, especially with respect to their desires and expectations. Be aware of patients who are looking for a perfect result or a “bargain”.
- Try to utilize the best possible materials and equipment, based on knowledge, experience, literature review and controlled long term studies.
- Be able to offer a patient alternative treatment plans, providing both ideal and practical options based on their expectations and finances.
- Never offer treatment solely on cost. Never let a patient talk you into providing a treatment plan you do not feel comfortable with; that is effective, with low risk, high benefit.
- Maintain the multidiscipliary team approach in offering complex care.
- Always think about how you would want to be treated in the same situation.
As long as we continue to maintain our standards, our professional careers will always endure, regardless of economic conditions.
