Plain English Terms and Conditions and Membership Agreement

The purpose of The Ortho Partners is to create a platform through which the treating practitioner and their patient receive the best possible treatment outcomes. In order to achieve this it is important that the treating practitioner understands and agrees to a number of terms and conditions:-

  1. The treating practitioner understands that they are solely responsible for the clinical outcomes of treatment for their patient. The Ortho Partners cannot be held in any way responsible for clinical outcomes. The Ortho Partners is not in a position to assess or influence the patient’s behaviour, or assess the actual individual clinical situation presented.
  2. The treating practitioner understands that the decision to treat a patient is solely theirs and theirs alone. The Ortho Partners cannot determine whether a patient should or should not be treated.
  3. The treating practitioner has advised the patient of all possible treatment alternatives (and the associated costs) available to them, including the option of no treatment; has informed the patient of the common risks associated with orthodontic treatment, as well as the clinical risks relevent to that particular patient. The patient has been informed of their obligations during treatment, as well as the need for appropriate retention.
  4. The treating practitioner can chose to ignore the advice given to them by The Ortho Partners, and proceed on their own accord with their own plan. Payment to the Ortho Partners however is required when the treating practitioner submits a patient for advice and treatment planning, as determined by the treating practitioners’ level of support they have engaged with The Ortho Partners, and is due and payable regardless of whether treatment goes ahead with the patient.
  5. Once the treating practitioner has purchased a case or case bundle it will be available until it is used. There is no time limit or requirement for the cases to be used.
  6. Once a treating practitioner submits a case to The Ortho Partners a single case fee will be charged and the treating practitioner shall be responsible for this charge even if the selected patient does not proceed with treatment, or treatment is cancelled.
  7. The Ortho Partners is not responsible for the final approval to order aligners, and once aligners are ordered by the treating practitioner then they are responsible for any fees incurred.
  8. It is the treating practitioners’ responsibility to know how to use and understand any and all software supplied and required for the treating practitioner to undertake the successful treatment of a patient.
  9. It is the treating practitioners’ responsibility to know how to undertake any of the clinical procedures required in treating a patient.
  10. It is the treating practitioners’ responsibility to be aware of and understand all the terms and conditions set out by any third party they establish a relationship with. These relationships are totally independent of The Ortho Partners and The Ortho Partners cannot be held responsible for any third party relationship that the treating practitioner establishes.
  11. The treating practitioner shall provide records of an adequate standard, which includes relevant photographs and radiographs of the patient they intend to treat, as well as an adequate impression or intra-oral scan. Should these records be of a standard that does not allow The Ortho Partners, in their opinion, to adequately evaluate the case and provide the an accurate plan, The Ortho Partners will request that the records be brought up to an adequate standard before proceeding further. If the records do not meet the required standard The Ortho Partners have the right to refuse to advise the treating practitioner.
  12. Should the treating practitioner continually fail to provide adequate records The Ortho Partners have the right to refuse further collaboration with the treating practitioner, at their sole discretion, and will agree to repay the treating practitioner any remaining upfront case fees.
  13. The relationship between the treating practitioner and The Ortho Partners is on a case by case basis. The treating practitioner has the right end their relationship with The Ortho Partners at any time with no financial penalties, with respect to their relationship with The Ortho Partners, providing any and all outstanding fees have been paid. Any residual un-used pre-paid case fees, shall remain with The Ortho Partners, and can be used at any time but will not be refunded.
  14. The Ortho Partners cannot be responsible for any financial responsibilities the treating practitioner may have with any other company.
  15. The Ortho Partners cannot be held responsible for any perceived effects the treating practitioner may believe has occurred in their practice because of the relationship with The Ortho Partners, positive or negative.

The Ortho Partners shall provide the following services:

  1. Orientation and explanation of the website, where required, and assistance in the establishments of the treating clinician’s own private portal.
  2. The Ortho Partners shall ensure that all online records and correspondence remain private and confidential with The Ortho Partners and the treating practitioner. The online Platform shall comply with the HIPAA Act.
  3. The Ortho Partners shall keep all information supplied to them by a practitioner confidential, unless required to disclose such information by law.
  4. Once a case is submitted The Ortho Partners shall commence treatment planning and present a treatment plan, with explanation, in a timely manner so not as to inconvenience the treating practitioner or the patient.
  5. The Ortho Partners agree to answer all ongoing communications in a timely manner.
  6. The Ortho Partners cannot finally approve a case for the commencement of treatment on behalf of the treating practitioner. This must be done by the treating practitioner to ensure that they understand the treatment and treatment objectives.

 

Membership Agreement

This membership agreement is designed to commit The Ortho Partners to providing the advice and experience required to establish successful orthodontic treatment using the Invisalign® or other Clear Aligner appliances, by committing the practitioner to a minimum number of cases per year, allowing them to gain the experience in managing clear aligner patients, while we provide the best treatment plan for them.

In order for this to succeed the practitioner must agree to the following:

  1. Commit to a minimum of 5 or 10 cases per year for the duration of the agreement.
    • Unused cases will remain active until used. There is no time limit.
    • Active cases will remain so until the patient’s treatment is complete
  2. All Invisalign® and Angelalign cases submitted by the practitioner MUST be through The Ortho Partners membership account, whilst the agreement is in effect. Which means that all lab-fees from Invisalign treatments will be billed by and paid to The Ortho Partners.
  3. Should the subscription end then any and all discounts and additional services provided by The Ortho Partners will cease and the practitioner will no longer by assigned to The Ortho Partners umbrella account. All Invisalign® and Angelalign fees and any other fees incurred will then be directed back to the practitioner.
  4. Commit to undertaking treatment to the best of the practitioner’s ability, with fully informedpatients, whose expectations can reasonably be expected to be achieved with diligence and effort.
  5. Should the subscription end before the 12 months period all unused credits will cease to exist and all used membership credits will be charged as per normal one off rates.
  6. Due to our agreement with Invisalign, only private Australian practitioners with Advantage Tier Level Bronze, Silver and Gold I can be part of The Ortho Partners umbrella account and benefit from the extra 5% discount on their lab-fee. Practitioners with Advantage tier level above Gold I (i.e Gold II, Platinum, Platinum Elite and above) will not be entitled to the Invisalign lab-fee discount member benefit.
  7. All previous lab-fee debt should be paid before merging the doctor account to The Ortho Partners umbrella account in order to be eligible for the lab-fee discounts.
  8. The extra 5% Invisalign lab-fee discount will not combine with any temporary promotional offers.
  9. The Angelalign lab-fee discount will be 20% and will not be combined with any other promotional offers.

In turn The Ortho Partners will:

  1. Commit to providing treatment plans appropriate for the cases being considered for treatment.
  2. Provide advice to assist the practitioner in achieving a successful treatment outcome.
  3. Build an online resource for practitioners to refer to, covering the many aspects of managing the Invisalign® patient, from record taking, correct instructions for the use of the aligners, instructions for placing attachments, IPR as well as recognising when aligners are not tracking and why, etc.
  4. Share in a remote monitoring service for patients to further improve their treatment outcomes, should the practitioner participate.
  5. Provide volume based discounts within the subscription.