The land of bad teeth
Britain has a reputation for people with bad teeth. This may not be only because of British cuisine, but rather a government construct:
The Government accused dentists of putting profit "before patient care" and called for an investigation.But dentists' leaders said a new contract meant practices were given the same fee for treating people who needed one filling as for people who needed 11. Under the system, dentists are paid for "units" of activity worth between £14 and £30 and are given a set target to reach.
Practitioners said yesterday that people who require lots of fillings and repeat visits took up extra time, but they did not bring in extra money because they counted for the same number of units as people with good teeth.
John Chope, a spokesman for the Dental Practitioners' Association and a dentist in Holdsworthy, north Devon, said: "We have been forced into an impossible position. If you spend a lot of time treating one patient who needs a lot of work, you are not treating the other patients who need maintenance work.
"If you don't treat the patients who need maintenance, you miss the Government target for the year and get fined. You could even be told that you have broken your contract and refused another."
So, let's see: if you treat the patient whose mouth looks like, er, mine, you don't make any more money, and you're penalized for not moving enough bodies through the door. And this is called "putting profits before patients"? And this is the kind of health care system Hillary wants?
Comments
Posted by: Litchfield Park Orthodontist
Posted on: May 29, 2007 05:16 PM
While orthodontic treatment is covered by the British government, it is only covered for those considered to have the greatest need for treatment (not financial need). Over the years they have developed a number of different indices to try and objectively determine the need for orthodontic treatment.