SGVDS-Summer NL '08-A - San Gabriel Valley Dental Society

Ethics Committee
by Roya Main, Judicial Council-CDA
Carl Hillendahl, DDS, Ethics Committee Chair
Gifts for Patients . . .
What Is & Is Not Allowed!
In all that you do to help grow your practice and build strong
and lasting relationships with your patients, you may be
considering providing your patients with gifts to thank them
for their patronage. Before deciding what and to whom the gifts
should be given, it is important to understand some of the limitations
imposed by the Dental Board of California’s Dental Practice Act.
As a provider, you are not prohibited from giving gifts to your
patients and most of you probably routinely provide free
toothbrushes, floss and other small tokens to your patients when
they visit. Not only do these types
of gifts encourage good oral
health, but are surely very much
appreciated by your patients.
The types of gifts that are
expressly prohibited by state law
are those that are given to
encourage, induce or reward
referrals. Business and Professions
Code section 650 states in part:
“the offer, delivery,
receipt, or acceptance by any
person licensed under this division
. . . of any rebate, refund,
commission, preference, patronage dividend, discount, or other
consideration, whether in the form of money or otherwise, as
compensation or inducement for referring patients, clients, or
customers to any person is . . . unlawful.”
Reminder to SGVDS Members:
Just a reminder that the SGVDS Emergency
number is there mostly to provide emergency
coverage for patients without a dentist of record in
the area.
The types of gifts that are
expressly prohibited by state
law are those that are given to
encourage, induce or reward
referrals.
So, as a provider, not only are you prohibited from giving your
patients or other providers gifts in exchange for referrals, but you
are also not permitted to accept such a gift from a colleague. This
includes anything of monetary value like gift certificates, flowers,
a credit on a patient’s account or a discount toward future services.
What about birthdays, holidays and other occasions when you may
want to send your patients and colleagues a gift? A dentist may
send gifts to patients and/or colleagues as long as the gifts are
completely unrelated to patient referrals.
Given these restrictions, how can
an office thank a patient for
referring a friend of family
member? The first thing to keep
in mind is that a patient will refer
other patients to your office if they
are happy with the quality of care
they are receiving and feel well
cared for by you and your office
staff. Beyond providing great
service, a handwritten thank you
card or call to a patient to thank
them for a referral will go a long
way in showing your appreciation.
For additional information on this or any other ethical issues, or
for a hard copy of the CDA Code of Ethics, please contact
Roya Main at (916) 554-4974.
You are obligated to make arrangements to
provide emergency coverage when you are on
vacation or out of the office. Your answering
device may list the numbers of those with whom
you have previously arranged coverage, or your
service may make the referral to those offices.
SGVDS FILLING YOU IN
SUMMER ’08
7