The WSDA has filed a complaint with the Washington State Department of Health, alleging dental clinics operated by Lone Peak Management Group, LLC (Lone Peak) are engaging in dangerous and deceptive practices. 

Last night, Seattle's KIRO 7 TV featured the complaint in a piece by reporter Alison Grande. We applaud KIRO for their investigative reporting into this matter.

The complaint alleges that the chain arranged a kickback scheme that generated nearly $170 for Lone Peak every time a patient was administered general anesthesia. Disguised as a “facility use fee” charged to the anesthesia provider, the complaint alleges that these payments far exceeded fair market value of the record-keeping Lone Peak provided the anesthesia provider, generating substantial additional profit for Lone Peak.  

Dentists and staff in Lone Peak offices also were directed to engage in a system of self-referral to affiliated clinics for specialty dental services like oral surgery and orthodontia. This system ignored patient preferences and in many cases resulted in families traveling significant distances to affiliated clinics when other qualified providers were nearby. 

Internal Lone Peak documents cited in the complaint clearly demonstrate the profit motive behind this policy.

“Patients in your office should NOT be given options as to where they would like to go for their wisdom teeth extractions. Regardless of how near/far the office…referring patients anywhere else is send OUR business and money away and is therefore unacceptable.”

Previously, Seattle’s KIRO 7 TV reported on another whistleblower complaint against Lone Peak, filed by a former office manager who left the company after refusing to follow directives from company managers to re-use dental mouthpieces that are intended for single-use only.

Lone Peak's alleged practices exemplify WSDA's concerns with the practice of corporate dentistry, and why we continue to champion efforts to protect the doctor-patient relationship in every practice model that dentists choose.  

Sincerely,

Bracken Killpack
Executive Director