Ortho Tribune U.K. Edition

The issue of orthodontic contracts is a topical one at present, with much discussion around the uncertainty regarding partially completed treat- ment and the sale of a practice. The issue of incomplete treatment arises not just with General Dental Service (GDS) contract sales, but also with Personal Dental Service (PDS) ortho- donticcontracts. The difficulty in transferring contracts between buyer and seller, and the issues around dealing with payment are well documented. It is proving to be an ongoing point of discussion, both with my clients, as well as among my fellow members of the Association of Specialist Pro- viders to Dentists and the National Association of Specialist Dental Ac- countantsandLawyers. InGDSwork,partiallycompleted treatment is paid for pro rata, but in PDS orthodontic work, it is paid to start but not to finish it, raising potential problems around claw- back. When a contract is termi- nated owing to a sale, the entire caseload is passed to the buyer and next provider, who then picks up the ongoing matter and its associ- atedincome.Fromtheseller’spoint of view, there is no longer any obli- gation to finish the cases, so no matter the patients’ stage of treat- ment (somewhere between appli- ancefitanddebond)allofthecases are transferred and the seller walks away. For the buyer, he or she needs to take into consideration the case- loadheorshewilltakeonasaresult of the purchase, while bearing in mind that no units of orthodontic activity can be claimed for finish- ingthecases.Undoubtedly,thiscan prove a problematic issue, but is a case in point of why it is essential for both a buyer and a seller to in- struct a specialist adviser to act on his or her behalf. By structuring payment clearly andlayingoutthetermsveryclearly inthesaleagreement,hopefullythe situation will be agreeable to both sidesofthesaleorpurchase. The DTI publishing group is composed of the world’s leading dental trade publishers that reach more than 650,000 dentists in more than 90 countries. PRINT DIGITAL EDUCATION EVENTS AD Amanda Maskery is one of the UK’s leading dental lawyers. She is Chair of the Asso- ciation of Special- ist Providers to Dentists (ASPD) in theUKandaPart- ner at Sintons law ﬁrm in Newcastle. She can be contacted at amanda.maskery@sintons.co.uk. Orthodontic contract transfer: An ongoing point of discussion By Amanda Maskery,UK Ortho Tribune United Kingdom Edition | 1/201508 TRENDS&APPLICATIONS DTUK0415_32_OT08_Maskery 18.09.15 12:34 Seite 1 DTUK0415_32_OT08_Maskery 18.09.1512:34 Seite 1

Ortho Tribune U.K. Edition

Seitenübersicht