Orthotown March 2018 - 9
embrace progress
Since the government intervened in health care, the system is
two-tiered. Health care costs have nothing to do with face-to-face,
one-on-one business transactions anymore. (If you need more
explanation, review my column from last month.) I remember being
in the sixth grade and having my adenoids removed. My parents
prepaid the doctor ($175) and we went to the hospital. Hospital
insurance covered the big expenses.
In the '80s we watched as doctors got swallowed up by HMOs
and other entities and were thankful that we had not followed them
down that path. I used to talk to my MD buddies about their need
to differentiate and charge for magazines and paper filing reviewing
charts. A couple of decades later, the concierge practice evolved.
Now, we feel powerless because we've allowed ourselves to plead
for insurance benefits for our services, only to be held hostage by
the codes and restrictions placed on them. Is it time for a concierge
dental or orthodontic practice? Should there be services billed to the
patient for items we perform daily but have no code for?
Future predictions
Is it time to redefine the orthodontic practice? Our existence has
been defined by the Angle's classification, but we know it's much
more. Maybe that simple tooth-pushing should be what is "covered"
by insurance. All other services, reception room reading materials,
coffee and contests, should be lumped under concierge services with
no attempt to bill the insurance company. In other words, we all get
the same for braces or aligners, and are free to charge our concierge
fee. Let the strong survive.
And finally, perhaps the definition of "orthodontist" needs to
change so that the gray area lumping us in with general dentists
no longer exists. Services such as soft tissue enhancement and
modification, sleep diagnosis and treatment, and straightening
teeth would all be part of the new specialty. Airway evaluation and
management would be part of diagnosis and treatment. Absolutely
no other specialty spends as much time on evaluation of growth,
development and saving time as orthodontics does.
None of this is easy. The ADA, AAO and insurance companies
all have vested interests in seeing things stay the same. But with
Invisalign stores and short-term ortho becoming more common,
it's clear that things are going to change. Are you ready to roll with
the punches? n
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orthotown.com \\ MARCH 2018
9
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Orthotown March 2018
Orthotown March 2018 - Cover1
Orthotown March 2018 - Cover2
Orthotown March 2018 - 1
Orthotown March 2018 - 2
Orthotown March 2018 - 3
Orthotown March 2018 - 4
Orthotown March 2018 - 5
Orthotown March 2018 - 6
Orthotown March 2018 - 7
Orthotown March 2018 - 8
Orthotown March 2018 - 9
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Orthotown March 2018 - 40
Orthotown March 2018 - 41
Orthotown March 2018 - 42
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Orthotown March 2018 - 48
Orthotown March 2018 - Cover3
Orthotown March 2018 - Cover4
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