The Service Side of Dentistry: Managing Expectations & Handling Situations When Treatment Does Not Go As Planned
Sunday, April 6
9 AM - Noon
3 CDE Credits – DDS, DH, DA, AUX
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
During this session, we will examine the changing nature of the modern patient, the perception of dentistry as a "service" as opposed to medical treatment, and patients’ expectations in dental treatment. We'll discuss how these shifting dynamics are resulting in increased claim frequency and severity. We'll then examine handling difficult patients in situations of adverse events or when a patient perceives treatment as not going as planned. Specifically, we'll examine the use of refunds, waivers, apologies and dismissal, as well as how to handle situations where patients take to online platforms to showcase their praise or criticism of your treatment.
Course Objectives:
1. Define and recognize trends in dental malpractice litigation.
2. Understand risk management techniques for handling situations with patients when treatment is not going according to plan.
3. Know the tools available to dental providers to appropriately handle patient complaints, and, if need be, resources and protocol available for dismissing a patient from the practice.
PRESENTER:
Jacqueline Clarke, J.D.
Jacqueline Clarke received her Juris Doctorate from Michigan State University College of Law in 2013. Before joining MedPro Group, Jacqueline worked as a litigation attorney at Smith, Haughey, Rice & Roegge in Ann Arbor, Michigan. There, she specialized in the defense of hospitals, healthcare facilities, physicians, and dentists. Jacqueline joined MedPro in 2018 and helped our dental division achieve a trial win rate of 95%. She delivers risk management and patient safety services to MedPro-insured dentists, students/residents, and national organizations. Jacqueline also serves in a business development role by providing educational seminars on risk reduction and proactive risk management to prospective clients, distribution partners and students.
