On Draining Swamps

For three years, the American Dental Association has assured dues-paying members that “EHRs provide long-term savings and convenience.” No byline, ADA News, December 6, 2013. Since then, the costs of EHRs over paper have only increased.

http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2013-archive/december/ehrs-provide-long-term-savings-convenience.

When Melissa Flygare, Sales Account Executive Team Lead, Henry Schein Practice Solutions – maker of Dentrix – was asked which is cheaper, she responded, “To answer your question – is software cheaper than paper? No – paper is rather cheap.” (See: Dental EHRs and the pop of a balloon… Wait for it. Wait for it…” Linkedin Pulse, January 23, 2016).

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dental-ehrs-pop-balloon-wait-darrell-pruitt?trk=hp-feed-article-title-comment&trk=hp-feed-article-title-share

The anonymous ADA article (ad) promotes “The Dental Record, the only ADA Business Resources-endorsed EHR provider.” Even though there is no disclaimer, The Dental Record, like Care-Credit and PBHS – a dental website and marketing firm which is mentioned in the same ad – is a source of non-dues revenue for the Chicago-based not-for-profit corporation. The sales arrangement is similar to AARP’s non-dues revenue acquired from dues-paying members: A premeditated conflict of interest in situ.

Both the ADA and the AARP fund Washington lobbyists, whose influence is based on numbers of dues-paying members. For these two not-for-profits, political influence depends on affordable dues. I wonder if AARP’s dues have been as stable as the ADA’s over the last decade.

Perhaps other, smaller, hidden swamps need to be drained as well.

D. Kellus Pruitt DDS

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