Review of the peer review process

Area of Science:

• Dental Law and Ethics
• Risk Management
• Alternative Dispute Resolution

Background:

• Dental practice discussions frequently focus on mitigating risks associated with patient dissatisfaction and potential litigation.
• Traditional approaches often involve defensive strategies to prevent legal action from disgruntled patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight an alternative dispute resolution method for dentist-patient conflicts.
• To present peer review as a non-adversarial solution to common dental practice challenges.

Main Methods:

• The study reviews the established peer review resolution process.
• Analysis of its effectiveness in de-escalating dentist-patient confrontations.

Main Results:

• Peer review provides a positive and professional avenue for resolving specific dentist-patient disputes.
• Outcomes of the peer review process are typically recognized and upheld across most legal jurisdictions.

Conclusions:

• The peer review process is a viable and effective strategy for dentists to manage patient conflicts.
• Adopting peer review can reduce the likelihood of adversarial legal proceedings in dental practice.