One Dentist’s Opinion on DSOs. What’s Yours?

Dr. Bernard J. Larson, a board-certified pediatric dentist in Mount Vernon, WA and president-elect of the Washington State Dental Association, recently published an opinion piece in The Seattle Times about the debate over the role of corporate dentistry in Washington state.

Larson urges that in order to continue to put patients first, there needs to be clarification and strengthening of existing state and federal law. Expressing concern over corporate dentistry’s views on profit and patient welfare, he addresses current law which allows dentists to retain DSOs for administrative support, while leaving clinical decisions in the hands of the dentist. Larson goes on to review DSO protocol for chair time, infection control standards, and management compensation in other states.

Siting repaying student debt as one of the reasons dentists turn to DSOs, Larson states a need for DSOs to “enrich dental training by helping to grow the Regional Initiatives in Dental Education program, which trains dental students in rural communities.”

To read Larson’s entire article on prioritizing patient care, and dental choice and competition, please click here.

For another opinion, please read: Reality Check: A Closer Look at DSO’s Abundance Theory Mentality

Source: The Seattle Times