Dental regulator publishes conflicts of interest case study

The General Dental Council and General Chiropractic Council have released a case study, titled ‘Conflicts of interest: Competing interests and incentives’, as part of this joint regulator work.

The regulators’ statement sets out the expectations of health and care professionals in relation to avoiding, declaring and managing conflicts of interest across all areas. It also includes advice on putting the interests of people in their care before their own, maintaining appropriate personal and professional boundaries and being open about any conflict as early as possible. 

Please find the case study below:

Conflicts of interest: Competing interests and incentives 

The scenario

Dr Brown is a chiropractor, who rents rooms for his clinic above a dental surgery. He and the dentists share a receptionist, who answers the phones and manages diaries. The dental surgery only takes private patients.

The dentists are very supportive of chiropractic treatment and, in fact, have a special interest in headaches and recognise that Dr Brown sees patients with these sorts of problems.