Elsevier

Dental Abstracts

Volume 62, Issue 1, January–February 2017, Pages 14-16
Dental Abstracts

The Big Picture
Integrated oral health care delivery

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.denabs.2016.09.003Get rights and content

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Background

The desire to maximize health outcomes is fueling the evolution of US health care toward a coordinated system that addresses the patient globally. In this evolution, oral health care professionals represent an underutilized resource that should be integrated into this new system. The influences driving the change and the new practice paradigm in an integrated oral health practice were detailed, along with changes that will be needed to produce this new way to offer oral health care.

Drivers of Change

The changes in health care delivery are driven by population trends, health care expenditures, insurance, prevention efforts, professional capacity, and interprofessional requirements. The segments of the population that will require the most attention are the elderly and young adults. Elderly patients have a health profile that includes a high percentage of persons with noncommunicable chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus (DM) and cardiovascular disease, multiple chronic conditions, and

Practice Paradigm

Dental care settings would need to incorporate several additional offerings to provide the expanded care that is desired. These include screening for chronic diseases such as DM, hepatitis C virus (HCV), and HIV. Stratifying patients by risk factors will allow the oral health provider to develop individualized patient care plans and guide any primary care interventions that are appropriate (Fig 1). The early detection of chronic diseases in an oral health care setting is estimated to have the

Integrated Oral Health Office

Among the changes needed to create an integrated oral health practice is the institution of an expanded health history. Dental electronic health record (EHR) systems could integrate medical and dental information, allowing the dental care professional and the medical professional to access information on the history of disease, current symptoms, diagnosed illnesses, current medications, allergies, and current health care providers. The dentist could regularly add weight and blood pressure

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Myers-Wright N, Lamster IB: A new practice approach for oral health professionals. J Evid Base Dent Pract 16S:43-51, 2016

Reprints available from N Myers-Wright, Dept of Health Policy & Management, Mailman School of Public Health Columbia Univ, 722 W 168th St, 4th Floor, 480D, New York, NY 10032; e-mail: [email protected]

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