RESPONSIBILITY OF DENTISTS FOR THE QUALITY OF MEDICAL CARE (Experience of Germany)

Germany ranks 6th in Europe on the effectiveness of health care system. The most important of the rights of the German patients is the right to self-determination, which means that the dentist is obliged to inform the patient in details about treatment options, possible risks and the consequences of treatment refusal. The German dentist must treat the patients with great care and by law is responsible for health damage caused by his fault. The patient, in turn, has the right to demand satisfaction from the doctor for providing false or negligent treatment. Medical errors are less common in German dental practice than in many other countries. However, German dentists are not immune from making medical errors. In this relation the problem of legal responsibility of the dentist for the patient's health and that of "defensive medicine" remain essential.

dentist, patients' rights, physicians' responsibility, effectiveness of dental care, "defensive medicine."