JACD 71-4 - American College of Dentists

Readers Respond
4
Letter to the Editor
After all, do not [the
patients] also have a
responsibility to exhibit
moral courage?
To the editor:
I found the editorial “Moral courage” to
be unduly condemnatory toward dentists.
Because of my involvement in
organized dentistry, I have had a number
of colleagues approach me for advice
about some substandard care they had
observed in their offices. I perceived
genuine concern in these dentists trying
to do the right thing for our profession
and for some patients who had suffered
poor quality treatment, frequently
unbeknownst to them.
Either the other dentist or I would
get advice from the state judicial council,
the state board of dental examiners, or
the local peer review committee. Most
of the time these bodies suggested a
written complaint by the patient in order
to open up an investigation. It was a
common comment that they wished
they would receive more letters from
patients. But more often than not, the
patients would decline to submit a letter,
despite the encouragement of the dentist.
In my own office, under similar
circumstances, I have even offered to
write such a letter, show it to the patient
for accuracy, and mail it for them. I have
offered to write or call a dentist in another
state about the patient’s condition in
order to pursue a refund for them.
Again, this offer is usually not explored.
I have frequently been surprised in a
sophisticated and well-educated city such
as San Francisco that this is so.
I contend that non-response from
patients can make resolution of these
ethical situations of substandard care
even more difficult. I feel it is appropriate
to put some obligation on the patient’s
shoulders. After all, do not they
also have a responsibility to exhibit
moral courage?
Donna B. Hurowitz, DDS, FACD
San Francisco, CA
2005 Volume 71, Number 4