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The Sounds of Institutional Silence 

[By Darrell K. Pruitt DDS]

Hey you, American Dental Association.

What do you have against talking with us members?

Do you fear the questions we might ask, or something?

Who I Am 

I am one of a growing number of dentists who believes that our profession, as well as all US health care, urgently needs transparency through communications – hair and all – bottom to top.  That means accountability from leadership.

Government Similarity 

President-elect Barack Obama has the same idea about government. Over a year ago, candidate Obama promised that all his Cabinet Secretaries would maintain weblogs to promote two way communication with all citizens. Even before he takes office, his website has been busy for weeks with interactive conversations with average citizens … yet I cannot get an official from my own professional association to respond to me online at all. I pay dues to the non-profit organization. How good is that?

The Naked Conversations 

Over two years ago, I read about weblogs in “Naked Conversations,” written by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel. I quickly became a fan of networks. A few months later, I offered to help start an ADA weblog – in a conversation with ADA Senior Vice President Dr. John R. Luther. I suggested that if ADA members could interact online with ADA officials or their representatives in real time, the transparency would empower the organization like never before in history. He was not interested.

An ADA Weblog 

Dr. Luther dismissed my idea outright and refused to discuss it further. He specifically told me that when the ADA was ready for a weblog, “the ADA leadership would let me know.” If you don’t recognize it, his was a variation of a typical conversation-ending response often used by leaders of traditional top-to-bottom, command-and-control business models like the ADA’s. Other door-closers are “Just because,” and “Anyway, it’s mandated so we have no choice.”  In my opinion, the ADA and in turn, the dental profession, are hobbled by an archaic model that no longer works and is recently vulnerable to trouble-makers like me who not only don’t play by their self-serving rules – but have a hell of a good time flaunting them. 

So-Called Authoritarian Dismissals 

By the summer of ’06, I was already accustomed to authoritarian dismissals from Dr. Luther.  On a separate issue I had raised earlier concerning the NPI number, he used a nuclear door-closer when he suggested that I write a letter to the editor if his committee-approved non-answer didn’t satisfy me … which he knew didn’t come close. If I had gone through my ADA publications with my question, the turnaround – if it were even considered for publication – would have been at least six weeks. 

Chain of Command 

That is how the leaders of the ADA used to conveniently handle those who didn’t respect proper chain-of-command representation, which normally shelves tricky questions on local dental society levels long before they reach Headquarters in Chicago. Very soon, officials in the ADA will be demanded to explain what’s wrong with responding to members immediately, or their silence will look more and more suspicious. It is not a good time in history to be a dinosaur. Barack Obama’s team finds the time to talk to underlings. What makes the leaders of the American Dental Association so special?

Internal Rules

Oh yea! Here is another internal ADA rule. “Let’s not wash our laundry in public.”  That means laundry never gets washed. Now, Dr. Luther isn’t the only ADA official who won’t venture onto the Internet.  I have tried to attract past Presidents, current Presidents and future Presidents as well.

For example, when one Google searches “Dr. Ron Tankersley,” who will be our next President of the ADA, my article on the PennWell forum titled “An invitation to Dr. Ron Tankersley, President-elect of the ADA” – appears on his first page.

http://community.pennwelldentalgroup.com/forum/topics/an-invitation-to-dr-ron

Here is the invitation that has been ignored for two months

Dear Dr. Tankersley,

I too am a member of the ADA. Congratulations on your election to the highest post in our professional organization. It is an esteemed compliment when so many colleagues put so much faith in a fellow professional, especially in these challenging times for dentistry.

As a dentist, I am excited about the miracles of discovery that will become possible when we begin applying Evidence-Based Dentistry to a vast network of interoperable computers in dentists’ offices across the nation – creating real-time research.

• How soon do you foresee this happening?
• Can we expect to see the beginning of it during your reign?

Your response is appreciated by dentists and patients alike.

Assessment

Does anyone else found institutional silence odd these days? Or, am I unprofessional to demand information that I consider is owed me?

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Filed under: Information Technology, Op-Editorials, Practice Management, Pruitt's Platform | Tagged: ADA, dentistry, dentists, Health I.T. | 7 Comments »