You may have heard us say that we are proud of being an independent clinic. What this means is that our clinic is owned and operated by Renee and Tharaka, the two principal dentists, with no involvement from a corporate third party. Some allied health clinics, including dental practices, are affiliated with, or owned by, third parties that can include private health insurance companies. These are sometimes referred to as preferred provider or corporate-owned clinics.
At Shepherds Hill Dental Centre, we have always felt that it is best for us to exclusively serve the interests of our patients, and not have to have our clinical or management decision making influenced by any third parties. We feel that the restrictions that can sometimes be placed on clinics by third parties who have their own fiscal interests, may result in decision making that isn’t in the exclusive best interests of the patients. Private health insurers may sometimes also place restrictions on patients, dictating what type of treatment they cover and the providers they can see. This can result in patients not being able to see the provider whey want to, or receive the treatment option they prefer. We believe that patients should be allowed to make choices about their health without the influence of third parties, and should be able to trust health professionals of their own choice, in helping them with their decision making.
We are proud of the fact that the way we run our practice is in line with our own values, and not those of a third party. We have full control of the laboratories and specialists we work with, the quality of the stock we purchase, the time we spend on our procedures and the options we offer our patients. We can thus truly say we are in a position where our patient care isn’t in any way influenced by a third party, and we can treat our patients like family.
