According To “Dr. Wo” Wm. Randol Womack, DDS Editorial Director, Orthotown Magazine

 
Risky Business
by Wm. Randol Womack, DDS, Board Certified Orthodontist
Editorial Director, Orthotown Magazine


In February, while attending the Damon Forum in Scottsdale, Arizona, I had the good fortune to become re-acquainted with Dr. Donald Machen. Don is a unique professional due mostly to his varied and somewhat unusual qualifications. He is a board certified orthodontist, a former trial lawyer for health-care professionals and a trial judge for more than 14 years. He is an author and frequent lecturer on risk management.

My column for the February 2010 issue of Orthotown Magazine was titled, “Are You a Careful Practitioner?” I reviewed office protocol in light of the ever-so-quickly evolving standard of care for orthodontics. With this in mind, my conversation with Don seemed to merge my thoughts of being careful as a practitioner with the ideas Don presented with his white paper on risk management. I outlined a possible definition of “traditional care” in my column, while Don’s paper outlines concepts of practice that avoid a lawsuit being initiated. They are:
  • Forming an optimal interpersonal relationship
  • Proper informed consent
  • Careful patient selection
  • Appropriate diagnostic selection
  • Thorough treatment planning
  • Effective presentation and documentation
  • Transparent and inclusive communication (especially with the patient)
Rewind to the summary of the 2009 JCO Orthodontic Practice Study. This is always a “must read” for me each year. Quoting some of the conclusions, “…the orthodontic economy was more stagnant than at any time since these surveys began in 1981;” “…89 percent of all respondents were not busy enough.” Truly times are desperate for orthodontists and for a large majority of families. How often when we meet with a prospective new patient today have we even thought about the third bullet listed above, “Careful patient selection?” Not to overuse the word “careful” but I think we easily become complacent with our practice protocols and lose awareness that not being “careful” becomes being “careless,” which can put us at risk. It is not uncommon to read horror stories of “desperate” patients victimizing doctors with unscrupulous and divisive scams, solely with the intent of dragging them into legal tangles.

To compliment my February column, Dr. Machen has contributed the first of several articles for Orthotown Magazine in this issue. His qualifications give him a unique perspective of risk management for orthodontists, even a “passion” for reeducating our readers on this aspect of practice so often forgotten. Since the theme for the AAO meeting is “Passion for Excellence,” Orthotown Magazine would like to make this small but important contribution to the theme at this year’s meeting.
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