Who is Financially Responsible to Pay Lab Bill?

[jthacke3]

Laboratories operate under the prescription of a licensed dentist, not necessarily a dental practice. If an associate dentist prescribes work and subsequently leaves the practice, who is financially responsible for paying the lab bill? If the practice refuses to cover the dentist's lab fee, who does the lab refer to collections? The practice or the dentist?

Thanks in advance for responses.

JT

 

[2thm8kr]

The dentist that incurred the expense. Kinda of a trick question, what are you fishing for?

 

[jthacke3]

We had a dentist, who was an employee of a corporate group, leave the practice and now they are refusing to pay the bill, telling us we need to go after the dentist personally for the lab fee on the case.

 

[2thm8kr]

We had a dentist, who was an employee of a corporate group, leave the practice and now they are refusing to pay the bill, telling us we need to go after the dentist personally for the lab fee on the case.

Its probably going to boil down to the employment contract between the doc and the practice. My thoughts, I would go after them personally in small claims. Deadbeats suck!

 

[jthacke3]

Fortunately, this was a small instance that can be easily written off. My main thought was whether we need to find a way to financially bind practices for the prescriptions written by their associates?

With corporate dentistry reducing the number of sole practitioners out there, this incident made me think a little bit.

 

[TheLabGuy]

Lawyer question

 

[2thm8kr]

Lawyer question

I'm all for NOT making an attorney's boat or Benz payment, but this seems to be a topic for the weasles.

 

[rkm rdt]

Don't your clients pay by Visa?

 

[sidesh0wb0b]

it's a legal question for certain but often times a practice will have a contract with any associate Drs that operate out of the practice.
ultimately the Dr that signed his/her name and lic number would be responsible IMHO. but I'm no attorney.

 

[charles007]

Was the monthly statement made out to the so called Practice name ? or to that Doctor ?
I think the money can only be owed to the business on the statement and sole responsibility .

 

[TomZ]

I would follow the path as to who had been paying the bills, a precedent was set. Let small claims decide as it will be incumbent upon them to explain why it was okay for the practice to pay the bill when he was employed, but why it isn't when he incurred the expense while he was still in their employ. Its not like he generated his bill with you after he was no longer employed by them.

I'm not a lawyer, but I play one on TV.

 

[AL1]

This happened to me years ago.
Took me six month but finally made the associate drive me to the office.
I told him to tell the owner I wasn't going to leave the waiting room without a check.
Eventually the associate came out with a check and I told him to take his business elsewhere.
I don't know about now but back then a little strong arm didn't hurt.

 

[dmonwaxa]

Bill the practice

 

[NicelyMKV]

I had this very thing happen two years ago. I had worked for a doctor who was an associate at one of my long time accounts. They then left and entered what I thought was a partnership with their friend. Their friend used a family member for their lab work. I was doing a majority of my docs work at the new practice. I billed my doc but the checks came to me in the name of the other doctor. Turns out my doc was just an associate. All of a sudden I didn't get any work for a few weeks. I call and they say the doc will call back. This goes back and forth awhile and I just assumed they left me for another lab. The bill does. It get payed of course. I finally call and demand answers. Turns out my doc had left and they didn't know how to handle it? They then said my doc was responsible for the payment. I happened to have my docs personal email and asked for payment. They replied that they were simply an associate payed by the practice. Well, I call the practice back and they ended up paying. Hope you get yours...

 

[ter01475]

We chase the practice. Most of these practices employee young dentists and pay them a percentage of what they gross....some on collections, which is a easy method that practices use to screw over these dentists. For instance they say that collections are not good...so the pay is low. When the dentist leaves the practice you can be sure that they don't get paid for money that was supposedly on the books. Most of these dentists get a flat 33- 37% of production....with no benefits at all. The only winner in this is the owner of the practice....therefore we go after the practice and have won every time that we have had to go to court. As an aside, work not paid for is not guaranteed.

 

[jthacke3]

Fortunately this is a rare event that hopefully remains that way. Does an associate dentist have the authority to bind the practice financially for lab fees?

We have to exercise a certain measure of trust in this industry that is usually rewarded more often than not. I would think the practice is, or would be, always responsible. The question is whether we modify our prescription forms with verbiage to bind the practice, and what that verbiage should be.

 

[dmonwaxa]

Wouldn't hurt to do so.

 

[TheLabGuy]

Sticky situation, especially if you're still doing work for the other Doctors in the same practice...but then again, you could always raise your fees on those Docs to make up for the loss on the one who split. I'd still run it by a lawyer, but as TomZ stated, the invoice is usually made out to the practice and that sets precedent.

 

[rkm rdt]

This is a non issue for us 3rd worlders up here.

Just add this thread to the ongoing list of reasons why the lab fee should be separate from the dentist fee to the patient.

 

[Gru]

Would it accomplish anything to add a line on the rx something to the effect that the prescribing doc is responsible for payment? How they pay it is their business. Almost time for new rx's to be printed, and this thread brings up a new issue.