At first blush, the answer is so easy (from our perspective!). We have absolutely no control relative to a patient’s home-care, diet, and/or habits. It’s called compliance. But, even if a patient has excellent compliance, takes very good care of themselves, there is always the possibility that something that has been done very well, will fail. It’s just a part of life.
Perfection vs. Excellence
Interestingly, and germaine to this discussion, I had triple by-pass surgery 27 years ago this month. Thirteen years later, I had to have the same surgery performed again. I considered the first surgery successful. After all, thirteen years is not bad!
Within four months I learned the second surgery, performed by the same cardiovascular surgeon, was a failure. He wanted to do it a third time, and I refused. I chose to alter my lifestyle. So far, so good! That was in 1996. I NEVER considered suing the surgeon, or asking him why he didn’t “guarantee” his work.
Expectations
I’ve often wondered if these same folks who want a “guarantee” from a dentist, ask the same of their physicians, attorney’s, CPA’s, or veterinarians. My sense is that it is an unfair expectation! If the procedure is done well, and the expectation is a long-term result, and that expectation is not met, I suspect that the patient experiences a sense of disappointment. Understandable! But, that said, the long-term goal for all of us should be health, and if some aspect of treatment fails, then we need to educate ourselves relative to how we can best “right” the situation.
Code of Ethics
When we consider a “code of ethics” for professionals, the very worst mistake any of us can make is to “guarantee” our work. It is virtually a lawsuit looking to happen!
Medicine is known for the “Hippocratic Oath”. “First Do No Harm”. Many decades ago, when I was in dental school, and throughout all of my training and dental education, I was taught similarly. DO NOT DO ANYTHING THAT WILL CAUSE THE PATIENT HARM!
Whose needs come first?
To put it in other terms, I was taught that the patient’s needs should always come before the dentist’s needs. That raises the question: is the prescribed treatment for the benefit of the patient, or for the dental practitioner? Will a filling do, or does the tooth really need a crown?
Paul Harvey, a noted broadcaster, frequently said: “you cannot legislate morality”. He was absolutely correct!
When I was appointed to The Texas State Board of Dental Examiners I was comforted by our “mantra”. We were on this Board to protect the people of the State of Texas. Not our colleagues, and not the politicians, who sometimes became involved.
Who determines morality?
At the same time, I was appalled at the number of complaints with which we had to deal. I learned very quickly that we could not “legislate morality”. Students who are admitted to dental schools, medical schools, law schools are not vetted relative to their depth of morality or their conscience.
We must all accept, therefore, that there are professionals practicing their professions with less than idealistic standards. This frequently leads to complications because almost all of us choose professionals we like rather than how good they are at their trade. If we like them, then we assume they are really good. Frequently, this is just not the case!
Guarantees: realistic or unfair?
So, back to the initial question: Can/should professionals guarantee their service? And, again, I share with you, that there is nothing a professional can do that is less ethical than a “guarantee”.
As a client, do not look for a “guarantee”, and do not expect one when something goes awry. No one in the professions is perfect! Some of us are better at what we do than others. Chasing perfection will get one a zipper down one’s chest very quickly!
I have a friend who practices internal medicine in Kansas City, Missouri. He has a sign in his window: “If you are seeking perfection, please choose another medical practitioner”.
And, finally, Abe Lincoln said it best: “you can please some of the people some of the time, but, not all of the people all of the time”.
Choose a professional that you both like and trust, and stick with them. Do NOT expect perfection. It sets up a ‘lose-lose” relationship, and, after all, what we all really desire is a “win-win” relationship, including comfort and good health.
