Can I Sell Merchandise From My Dental Office, Such as Vitamins and Minerals, or Electric Toothbrushes?

Leadership Style (continued) connection with their team, which can boost company morale and retention. It also values the ethics of the company and team instead of being overly focused on achieving goals.

Challenges: Since transformational leaders look at individuals, it can cause team or company wins to go unnoticed. These leaders also can overlook details as they are big picture thinkers.

Transactional – Described as: performance-focused

You may be a transactional leader if you:

• value corporate structure • micromanage • don’t question authority • are practical and pragmatic • value goal-hitting • are reactionary Benefits: Transactional leaders facilitate the achievement of accomplishments through short-term goals and a clearly defined structure.

Challenges: Being overly focused on short-term goals and not having long-term goals can cause a company to struggle with adversity. This style stifles creativity and is unmotivating to employees who aren’t incentivized by monetary rewards.

Bureaucratic – Described as: hierarchical and duty-focused

You may be a bureaucratic leader if you:

• are detail-oriented and task focused • value rules and structure • have a great work ethic • are strong willed • have a commitment to your organization • are self-disciplined Benefits: This leadership style can be efficient in organizations that need to follow strict rules and regulations. Each person in the team/company has a clearly defined role, which leads to efficiency. These leaders separate work from relationships to avoid clouding the team’s ability to hit goals.

Challenges: This style does not promote creativity, which can feel restricting to some employees. This leadership style also is slow to change and doesn’t thrive in an environment that needs to be dynamic.

PRACTICE

CAN I SELL MERCHANDISE FROM MY DENTAL OFFICE, SUCH AS VITAMINS AND MINERALS, OR ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSHES?

There are several legal issues to consider when deciding whether to sell merchandise from the dental office. Starting with the contractual issues, it is important to carefully review the terms of all sales contracts and documents with the manufacturer or supplier. Consult a qualified attorney about any terms that make you uncomfortable or that you don’t understand. Having an attorney review a sales agreement, especially one that involves a long-term commitment or a large dollar amount, can be an excellent investment if it saves you time, money, and stress in the long run.

If you sell a product that the purchaser believes to be defective, you may be named in a products liability lawsuit. Investigate the products you choose to sell and their manufacturer to make sure the products are of the highest quality and the manufacturer is a responsible company, and check with your insurance advisor to make sure your business liability policy would protect you and your practice if such a claim arises from any merchandise you sell.

Check with your accountant to determine whether you are responsible for collecting sales tax when you sell the products. If so, you will be required to obtain a resale tax number from the state and submit periodic reports and remittances. If you lease your practice facility, check the terms of your lease to make sure there is no restriction on selling merchandise or certain categories of products. A shopping center landlord will sometimes restrict tenants from competing with the other tenants by restricting the scope of their businesses. For example, if the anchor tenant is a pharmacy, other tenants may be restricted from selling health and beauty aids.

If you sell products such as dietary supplements or dental products, make sure the products you sell are over the counter and not prescription. The sale of prescription products is highly regulated under state and federal laws.

Be careful not to violate HIPAA, as amended by HITECH, in connection with product sales, particularly if you are considering sending marketing information to patients or allowing another entity to send information to your patients. HIPAA restricts the sale of patient contact information for marketing communications and imposes restrictions on marketing communications to patients without their prior authorization.

A Dentist’s Guide to the Law 246 Things Every Dentist Should Know