A Practical Approach to Navigating the Dento-Legal Environment
We owe it to our patients, and ourselves, to be the best practitioners we can be – and this goes beyond clinical expertise. In a world of information overload and competing demands on our time, it is often difficult to just get to the core facts of an issue without having to negotiate a large amount of unnecessary material.
This course is designed to resolve that for participants by drawing on the presenter’s experience and distilling, in a single day, the most important considerations for dental practitioners regarding dental records, consent and complaint management. Being aware of our obligations and how to meet them, as well as identifying the strategies and tools to minimise risk, are key to a satisfying professional career. This is a day to clear up any confusion, be reassured by what you are already doing well and learn what needs to be done to address any areas requiring your attention.
Topics include
• Dentists and the law
• Dental Records – What do I need to know? What do I need to do?
• A guide to consent in the dental environment
• Complaint management – handling the dissatisfied patient
Learning Objectives
Experiencing a varied combination of lectures, case examples and video presentations, course participants will gain an understanding of:
• The legal and statutory environments applicable to dental practise
• How to satisfy the expectations of the regulators regarding dental records by complying with the Health Records good practice principles of the AHPRA Code of Conduct
• How to meet obligations with respect to privacy, confidentiality and security, as well as how to respond appropriately to requests for dental records
• Considerations around the consent process – getting the terminology right, patient autonomy, capacity, documentation, the consequences of proceeding without consent
• Why people complain, strategies to put in place to reduce risk, how to manage the dissatisfied patient, dealing effectively with the dilemma of ceasing to treat
