Dental Tribune Untited Kingdom Edition

‘As ever, the media and advertising especially have much to answer for by bombarding us with images of physical perfection in order to sell any- thing from cars to cosmetic dentistry’ February 13-19, 201224 Comment United Kingdom Edition R4Practice Management Software GIVES YOU MORE AND KEEPS ON GIVING constantly improving constantly developing constantly delivering For more information or to place an order please call 0800 169 9692 email sales.uk.csd@carestream.com or visit www.carestreamdental.co.uk Carestream Dental © Carestream Dental Ltd., 2011. featuReS of R4 R4 Mobile Direct link to PIN pad Patient Check-in Kiosk Care Pathways Communicator Steritrak E-Forms Patient Journey On-line Appointment Booking Text Message and Email reminders Clinical Notes Appointment Book Digital X-Ray Managed Service Practice Accounts More features, More benefits, More time, More support, all of which can help you achieve More patients and More profits ...and there’s still more to come S omewhere among the ever shifting sands of success and failure lay outcomes and expec- tations and if we’re lucky, they may overlap. As clini- cians, we’ve all found our- selves in that uncharted ter- ritory when the realisation dawns that our assessment of a successful treatment out- come is a million miles re- moved from the patient’s ex- pectations. Understanding and man- aging expectations is para- mount, underlined by the 2003 OFT report that stressed the importance of good commu- nication in achieving patient satisfaction, and subsequently reinforced by CQC regula- tions that require documen- tary proof of informed patient consent. Expectations are bound up in rationality and emo- tion, complex attitudes, hope and fear. At a very simple level, rational expectation is determined by what is like- ly to happen – if you drive at 100mph towards a brick wall, it is very likely that you’ll hit it. In other words, by re- moving the uncertainty that would otherwise mean the car colliding with the brick wall would be a complete sur- prise, we are effectively man- aging expectations. However, when emotional expectation becomes belief about what may happen in the future, disappointment is a frequent outcome. As ever, the media and advertising especially have much to answer for by bom- barding us with images of physical perfection in order to sell anything from cars to cos- metic dentistry. Because most of us have realistic expecta- tions, we know perfectly well that buying a particular vehi- cle is not going to put us on a par with George Clooney as soon as we turn the ignition. But, when an idyllic beach front hotel turns out to be a building site, we will com- plain not just because it didn’t meet our expectations but it is not what we were sold. Therein lies the conundrum - the ‘contract’ between den- tist and patient that is so much more than the simple ex- change of money for treat- ment or services. The term ‘psychological contract’ was adopted in the 1960s to describe the rela- tionship between employers and employees but in some ways it could equally well apply to the relationship be- tween dentists and patients because the expectations of both parties will include be- Managing expectations Michael Sultan on complex attitudes, hopes and fears