Dentaltown May 2016 - (Page 32)
practice management
feature
The
ABCs
of Dental
ETHICS
by Jeffrey J. Tonner, JD
Jeffrey J. Tonner
is a full-time dental
malpractice defense
attorney in Phoenix.
He has written several
books for dentists,
including Malpractice: What They Don't
Teach You In Dental School, and lectured
across the county on risk management and
record keeping. He created Ideal Charting
for General Dentists, a system that
includes progress-note templates, consent
forms and real-life dental/legal updates.
Contact him at dentallaw@jefftonner.com
or (602) 266-6060. Find out more at
thedentaladvocate.com.
32
MAY 2016 // dentaltown.com
The word ethics comes from the Greek
ethikos and ethos, meaning "the character
of an individual." Ethics is a branch of
philosophy that deals with the general
nature of moral choices, including a dentist's relationship with patients and staff.
The preamble to the American Dental
Association Code of Ethics frames this
concept in terms of "honesty, compassion, kindness, integrity [and] fairness."
Dentists generally are bound by two
sets of written codes or laws: the ADA
Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct (applicable by adoption
to all ADA and state dental association
members), and state laws-most notably,
dental practice acts. While statutes vary
between jurisdictions, all principled
practitioners accept certain universal
standards.
This article examines three specific
areas, conveniently beginning with the
first three letters of the English alphabet.
A
Altering records
The Arizona Court of Appeals, in a
recent decision, said that altering records
reflects "notations [that] were written to
appear as though they were made contemporaneously with the original entries."
My first brush with this unethical
conduct occurred before the dental
board-I had just completed what I
thought was a winning argument when
the patient explained that the progress
notes I quoted were not found in his copy
of the records. Unbeknown to my client,
the patient was dating his receptionist
and had obtained a copy of the records
before proceeding with the board.
Upon reviewing the complaint, the
dentist determined that his entries needed
help and altered them before forwarding
the doctored copy to the board.
Since then, I have defended perhaps
a dozen cases involving altered records.
I had no knowledge of any rewrites
http://www.thedentaladvocate.com
http://www.dentaltown.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown May 2016
On Dentaltown.com
HOWARD SPEAKS: Talking Monkeys, Reviews Gone Wild, and Valuable Margins
PROFESSIONAL COURTESY: A 5-Star Future?
Continuing Education Update
Industry News
Special-Needs Patients
3Shape TRIOS 3
The ABCs of Dental Ethics
Townie Meeting Recap
Is It Time to Be Conservative, or Progressive?
Balancing the Scale(r)s
A Dope Does a Startup
The Dental Laser’s Role in Managing Periodontal Disease
Do Good: A WHALE OF AN EFFORT
Do Good: HOW SMILES ON WINGS TOOK FLIGHT
Do Good: SERVING THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED
Do Good: BE A HERO, HONOR A HERO
Do Good: THIS WE’LL DEFEND
Do Good: PAYING IT FORWARD
Do Good: A BEACH IN WESTERN KENYA
Do Good: A GIANT EFFORT: HENRY SCHEIN CARES
Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?
Poll
New Products
Ad Index
You Should Know
Practice Solutions: Tokuyama Dental
Product Profi le: Planmeca
CONTINUING EDUCATION: Mill In or Send Out?
Dentally Incorrect
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