ACCC grants authorisation to dentists for fee-setting in shared practices
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has granted authorisation* to enable dentists and dental specialists in shared practices to agree on the fees they charge their patients, ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said today.
The Australian Dental Association Inc sought authorisation as dentists and specialists operating as separate legal entities may be at risk of engaging in price fixing and exclusionary conduct if they agree on the fees they will charge for treatments within the shared practice.
The ACCC considers that allowing dentists and specialists to charge a common fee in circumstances where they operate under a common trading name from shared premises and facilities, where they share patient records and patients are treated by other members of the practice and is likely to result in a public benefit.
Shared practices of this type are more likely to have common administrative and operational costs which can result in efficiency savings. Patients can also benefit from consistent and predictable pricing among dentists operating within a shared practice which can assist with the quality and continuity of care.
The authorisation does not apply to the setting of fees between practices that are not co-located.
The ACCC's determination will be available from the ACCC website.
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*Authorisation provides protection from court action for conduct or arrangements that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974. Authorisation is granted where the ACCC is satisfied that the benefit to the public from the conduct outweighs any public detriment. A party to whom authorisation had been granted may also apply to the ACCC for a minor variation of that authorisation.
