Ethics & Law · patient case question
Which type of insurance is NOT ordinarily relevant to a dentist running a practice?
Patient case: The business of the practice
Patient: Practice and population-level scenarios
Chief Complaint: Not applicable.
Background: A prescription is being written for prophylaxis. The practice insurance portfolio is under review. Rising floodwater is entering the building. A crown is being placed in a better material than quoted, at no extra charge. A patient irradiated for a head and neck cancer ten years ago requests an extraction and refuses radiographs. The local council is consulting on water fluoridation. A published cohort study is being appraised.
Findings: Not applicable.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Lessor's insurance
- A. Workers' compensation covers employees injured in the course of their work and is legally mandated in almost every jurisdiction once a practice has staff.
- B. Professional liability covers claims of negligence in patient care. It is essential and in most jurisdictions effectively mandatory.
- C. Business interruption insurance replaces lost income when the practice cannot operate after a covered event such as fire or flood, and it typically funds payroll and fixed costs during the closure. It is directly relevant — see the flooding scenario in this same case.
- D. CORRECT as the exception. LESSOR'S insurance is carried by the party who LEASES PROPERTY OUT — the landlord. A dentist renting an office suite is the LESSEE, and the lessor's policy is the landlord's concern, not the practice's. (A dentist who happens to own a building and rent it to someone else would carry it in that capacity as a landlord, which is precisely the distinction the question is testing.)
Note: The rest of the portfolio to recognise: GENERAL liability (a visitor slipping in the reception area), PROPERTY insurance on equipment and leasehold improvements, EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES liability, CYBER liability for protected health information, and DISABILITY plus OVERHEAD EXPENSE insurance for the owner — the last of these being the one most often overlooked and most needed, since the practice's income depends on one person's hands.