A reader who is a dentist in Ohio writes that he's faced
an ethical dilemma several times that has him wondering about the right thing
to do.
After providing dentures or bridgework for an elderly
patient and then performing following up adjustments, his patients are
typically fine. But occasionally, a few weeks or months later, the patient
dies. Months later, the dentist receives a call or letter from the executor of
the former patient's estate saying that while reviewing the deceased's
financial records he or she noticed the money that was spent on new teeth
shortly before the patient's death. The executor then asks for all or part of
the dentist's fee to be refunded since the patient did not live long enough to
use the new teeth.
The Ohio dentist writes that while some opticians will
buy-back new eyeglasses in such situations, lenses and frames can be refitted
for other patients. "Dentures should never be recycled," he writes,
"except in rare cases like when marooned on a small island or life
boat." He asks if a tattoo artist would be expected to refund fees if a
customer dies soon after purchasing a new tattoo, "assuming he didn't die
from ink poisoning."
"Dentures usually require multiple office visits and
significant laboratory costs," he writes. "Good will notwithstanding,
many ethical dentists deny refund requests in this situation?"
Normally, the Ohio dentist refuses requests for
post-mortem refunds. Although, he has on occasion forgiven a balance owed by a
patient making installment payments. "Dental insurance usually pays around
one-half of the denture fee," he writes. "I ask for a down payment at
the start, with the balance due after the insurance check is received."
On one occasion, a patient had just retired and wanted to
replace his dentures to more fully enjoy his retirement years. Three weeks
after the dentures were placed, the Ohio dentist received the insurance check
and mailed an invoice for the balance. His widow received it the day after he
died unexpectedly. When the dentist found out he offered his condolences, and
asked her to disregard the invoice. "She said he really liked his new
teeth, and would be happy to pay, but I said the pleasure of knowing him was
payment enough. He was exceptionally pleasant and easy to work with."
But while he occasionally forgives the balance due, he
normally refuses requests for post-mortem refunds. "The amount of effort a
dentist expends is the same whether a patient goes on to live 10 weeks or 20
years."
If the family of the deceased patient had an issue with
the quality of the dentures, they can petition for a review of the work. But
that's not what the Columbus dentist is talking about here. Here he wonders if
it's ethical to refuse to refund money spent on dentures for a patient who dies
shortly after the work was done.
The right thing is for the dentist to make clear what his
payment policy is up front. If any patient, regardless of age, happens to die
shortly after the dental work is done, that may be tragic, but it doesn't
lessen the time and work that the dentist committed to the patient.
Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of The Simple Art of Business Etiquette: How to Rise to the Top by Playing Nice, is a lecturer in public policy and director of the communications program at Harvard's Kennedy School. He is also the administrator of www.jeffreyseglin.com, a blog focused on ethical issues.
Do you have ethical questions that you need answered? Send them to rightthing@comcast.net.
(c) 2015 JEFFREY L. SEGLIN. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.
4 comments:
Good lord.
I cannot believe it.
A person buys a custom medical item to be used only for him and he dies. And someone else wants a refund because he died.
What if he had heart surgery? Or a brain transplant? Or a sex change?
Not much question here.
Alan Owseichik
Greenfield, Ma
In my opinion, the dentist has no ethical dilemma.
The executor, likely a close relative, is wrong, and is greedy. Would the executor ask a dealership to refund the money paid for a car driven a dozen times; a clothing store to refund the money paid for a suit worn three times; a shoe store to refund the money for a pair of shoes worn 6 times; and so on.
The dentist performed good quality work, invested his time and money on materials and labor for the dentures, and the patient was satisfied. He owes the estate nothing. The family's reasonable expectations were exceeded when the dentist told the widow to disregard the balance remaining on the dentures.
Thank you because you have been willing to share information with us. we will always appreciate all you have done here because I know you are very concerned with our. dentist Milton
The right thing is for the dentist to make clear what his payment policy is up front. If any patient, regardless of age, happens to die shortly after the dental work is done, that may be tragic, but it doesn’t lessen the time and work that the dentist committed to the patient. Visit us in our Ontario office.
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