Reduction of dentists of lower category in Ukraine: how to protect Your business
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Health care reform, launched in 2018, introduced a new financing principle, according to which “money follows the patient”. In connection with the restructuring of the system, the following questions arose, What kind of specialists should be in the staff of the health care facility, and what is the actual number of them?
Unfortunately, this has already resulted in specialists such as dentists losing or risking to lose their jobs soon. Today, we’ll talk about what it’s all about and how dentists can keep hold of their jobs.
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Why did dentists of lower category come under threat?
Although an ordinary citizen usually do not distinguish between the dentists and dentists of lower category. However, there is a fundamental difference between these dental practitioners in terms of their activities and, accordingly, their qualifications.
According to the qualification requirements to the profession approved by the Order No. 117 of the Ministry of Health of 29.03.2002, a dentist is a person with full higher education (they shall study 6 years in the university, and have at least a year of internship), who can provide a full range of dental services, in particular, to carry out prevention, treatment of diseases of the oral cavity, etc.
A dentist of lower category is a person with incomplete higher education who can perform simple dental procedures such as examining the oral cavity (without intervention), preparing mixtures for treatment, etc. By law and logic, these specialists can work in tandem where the dentist of lower category helps the dentist.
However, in the past, there were not enough professional dentists and most facilities were staffed by dentists of lower category who actually performed all procedures, even those not covered by the relevant job descriptions.
Today, there is a legion of dentists, so the question of relevance of such a separate specialty as a dentist of lower category has been raised. As a result, in recent years, there has been a long series of dismissal of dentists of lower category. Some dental practitioners were able to recover through a court appeal, but the downward trend continues to increase.
Read also: Can Two Doctors Work In A Single Room?
So what should a dentist of lower category who has been performing the actual functions of a dentist for many years do?
The only legal way and opportunity to extend your medical activity is to obtain a Medical License. And the sooner you do that, the better.
Of course, the licensing regulations require a certain diploma of education, equipment, a doctor’s office and compliance with some requirements.
Getting a license without additional education, but with the dentist’s experience, can at least help you:
- Maintain medical experience;
- Provide at least a minimum list of services under Order No. 117;
- Get some protection.
Our lawyers can advise you on the theoretical range of services you can get a Medical License for, tell you what services can be provided by a dentist of lower category with experience in the oral cavity treatment. They can also advise you on the steps you need to take to license your practice.
Today, there is talk that some amendments will be introduced to the Order № 117, but it is impossible to say for sure whether dentists of lower category will be able to expand the list of provided services.
If you are a dentist of lower category and want to continue to provide services in the medical field, don’t hesitate to call us.
