Australasian Dentist Issue 89

Category 102 AustrAlAsiAn Dentist proFIle i n March, after 25 years at Prime Practice, Dr Phillip Palmer decided to make a professional change of direction, leaving day-to-day duties at Prime and founding a new enterprise: www. dentalmediation.com.au We sat down with him to ask him some questions about this recent move. Q Why did you decided to go into mediation? in my time at Prime Practice, i regularly found myself counselling and helping several dentists who were having disputes with their associates or business partners. i had no training in it but did the best i could and found that i was pretty successful in reconciling differing personalities and points of view. More than that, i found that i have enjoyed this part of my work. it was only after finishing at Prime, that i thought to get qualified and accredited in this field and provide structured mediation services to fill a gap in the industry. Q What is mediation? Mediation is a structured, dispute resolution process where an impartial third party helps resolve conflict through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques. it is preferable to be done face-to-face, but often great results can be achieved via Zoom. Dental mediation Q What are the advantages of mediation over litigation? Dental Mediation is a dispute resolution process that: 1. is less expensive, time-consuming and formal than litigation. 2. Can be organised quickly and at a time convenient to the individual parties (not the court). 3. Can be conducted at places suitable and convenient for the parties … not in a court room. 4. is usually held in an environment that is significantly less intimidating than court. 5. it can be started before or after litigation has commenced and does not alter positions in court. 6. Allows all sides in a dispute to have their chance to tell their view of the situation. in this way, they often feel they have had their ‘day in court’ without the expense, time and stress of going through litigation. Q Why do dentists need mediation? there are many reasons why dentists may need mediation. Many practices have a structure that involves partners (or resource-sharing associates) and it doesn’t take much before the conflicting interests and complexity of ownership can lead to disputes. Most dentists will have heard of some situation that has gone through this. Disputes with business partners can be like a divorce. it is commonly very stressful for all concerned, but it can also be a significant distraction from the important parts of running a business and compromise its function and value. When disputes fester amongst dentists, it can create a very stressful atmosphere, where any outside parties get turned off any thought of buying in, or buying out one of the owners. in turn, this would rapidly decrease the value of the practice. the quicker any disputes can be resolved, the better for all concerned. As an independent and impartial third party, we can facilitate open discussions to successfully diffuse situations and ultimately resolve problems between colleagues. Q Why do dentists need dental mediation, instead of generic mediation? it is always preferable to use a mediator who is familiar with the industry, industry norms and issues at stake. using a generic mediator without this understanding can cause a mediation to: u take a longer time than necessary while the mediator investigates and gets their head around the issues at stake. u Have less credibility from the conflicted parties. Having been in the industry as long as i have, both as a dentist, dental practice owner and dental business consultant, gives me a unique and deep understanding of the specific background of disputes between dentists, and ways of navigating issues that may arise between partners. Q Dental mediation seems like quite a departure from Prime Practice. Are people surprised when they hear of it? not really, when i founded Prime Practice, it was to help dentists get the tools to eliminate points of stress and excel at their business, while creating a better workplace environment. i believe Dentalmediation .com.au will, for some dentists, create an avenue to help eliminate friction and unhappiness in their workplace and create better outcomes for not just the individuals involved, but their organisation as a whole. u The Easy and Most Effective Way to Floss! ™ Visit www.waterpik.com.au for more information or email professionalau@waterpik.com * Dependent upon location of practice. Sessions via face to face or Zoom. Lunch on us!* Book your free lunch and learn NOW and find out how Waterpik can benefit your practice and patients. professionalau@waterpik.com BOOK NOW! Dr Phillip Palmer