Consumer-driven and commercialised practice in dentistry: an ethical and professional problem?
Abstract
The
rise and persistence of a commercial model of healthcare and the
potential shift towards the commodification of dental services, provided
to consumers, should provoke thought about the nature and purpose of
dentistry and whether this paradigm is cause for concern. Within this
article, whether dentistry is a commodity and the legitimacy of
dentistry as a business is explored and assessed. Dentistry is perceived
to be a commodity, dependent upon the context of how services are to be
provided and the interpretation of the patient–professional
relationship. Commercially-focused practices threaten the fiduciary
nature of the interaction between consumer and provider. The solution to
managing commercial elements within dentistry is not through rejection
of the new paradigm of the consumer of dental services, but in the
rejection of competitive practices, coercive advertising and the erosion
of professional values and duty. Consumerism may bring empowerment to
those accessing dental services. However, if the patient–practitioner
relationship is reduced to a mere transaction in the name of enhanced
consumer participation, this empowerment is but a myth.
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