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An Alaska dentist, Seth Lookhart, is being prosecuted on 17 counts of fraud and "unlawful dental acts." It's one of these alleged dental acts — Count XI — that has moved me.
Court papers filed this week say in or around July 2016, Lookhart "performed a dental extraction procedure on a sedated patient while riding a hoverboard and filmed the procedure and distributed the film to persons outside his dental practice."
[...] What if his hoverboard skills weren't perfect? What if he'd slipped at the vital moment as his tools were gripped around the patient's teeth? Please forgive me if I also mention that hoverboards have been known to explode and catch fire.
Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/dentist-accused-of-extracting-teeth-while-riding-hoverboard-alaska/
(Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 26 2017, @03:56PM (6 children)
I think what this dentist did is condemn-able, but should it be illegal? Why should the state be interfering in this case? If the patient were injured, then there could be a crime. However, do we really want such an extensive state that "acting dumb" is per say illegal? I hate the trend to over-criminalize everything, and in my opinion this dentist's actions falls under that heading.
In my opinion, he should be examined by the dental certification board (or whatever), a patients may have a civil malpractice lawsuit against him (although seeing how the patient could have said "no" and walked away it's a bit hard to argue). In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the "free market" in this case would help resolve things, as if patients really are offended by the dentist's blatant stupidity they'll just stop seeing him. No need for the state to get involved.
(Score: 4, Informative) by n1 on Wednesday April 26 2017, @04:28PM
I'd guess it's in the same arena as speeding is illegal, even if you don't have a car accident... Taking unnecessary risks with potential to cause injury is negligence. Another example would be building code violations, just because the building didn't fall down or the electrical installation didn't kill anyone yet doesn't make it safe.
It's an odd situation for sure, but in the general context of making a medical procedure more unsafe just for fun is a fairly clear case of negligence to me, even if the patient wasn't concerned. The medical professional is the one with the responsibility and duty of care.
(Score: 3, Touché) by deadstick on Wednesday April 26 2017, @04:29PM (1 child)
although seeing how the patient could have said "no" and walked away
You mean the sedated patient?
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 26 2017, @04:46PM
Of course! Any good Randian bootstrapper is capable of negotiation in his sleep! Literally! You mean you can't negotiate while sedated? Are you some kind of untermensch?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by urza9814 on Wednesday April 26 2017, @05:23PM (1 child)
Even if we totally ignore the negligence of operating a motor vehicle while operating, he's still guilty of HIPPA violations for spreading around videos of himself operating on sedated patients. I'm kinda shocked that all the comments here are 100% focused on the hoverboard angle and nobody has bothered to consider patient privacy...you can't just do any random shit to a sedated patient without their consent then throw the videos up on YouTube for the whole damn world to see. I don't give a shit if he filmed a textbook example of a perfect extraction, it'd still be illegal. Although the hoverboard *does* provide some pretty solid evidence that there really wasn't any medical justification for his actions. He wasn't trying to improve his practice or provide a service to the patients, he was just violating their rights for a laugh. Revoke his license at a minimum; if he can't follow the most basic standards of professional ethics, he can go find a new profession.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 26 2017, @06:21PM
Hippa [youtube.com].
But don't worry, hippos are also involved in HIPAA compliance [youtube.com].
(Sorry, pet peeve.)
(Score: 1) by zaxus on Wednesday April 26 2017, @06:40PM
Sharing video of the procedure without the patient's consent is a HIPAA violation.
"I do have a cause, though. It is obscenity...I'm for it." - Tom Lerher