Dolce MC, Barrow J, Jivraj A, Pham D, Da Silva JD.
Interprofessional value-based health care: Nurse practitioner-dentist model. Journal of Public Health DentistryJournal of Public Health DentistryJournal of Public Health Dentistry. 2020;80 (S2) :S44 - S49.
Publisher's VersionAbstractAbstract Objectives The United?States health system is challenged to improve patient and population health, enhance patients' experience of care, and reduce health care costs. Value-based health care (VBHC) models are proposed to address these issues. Medical health systems are making strides toward VBHC, whereas dental care systems lag behind. The aims of this paper are to a) present study findings of an interprofessional practice model integrating oral health and primary care in a dental practice setting, and b) discuss practice and research implications for advancing VBHC approaches in oral health. Methods A nonexperimental research method was employed to evaluate the Nurse Practitioner-Dentist Model for Primary Care (NPD Model) at the Harvard Dental Center. Pretest/post-test design was used to assess clinical patient outcomes for a convenience cohort of Medicare beneficiaries (n = 31) with a reported diagnosis of hypertension and/or type?2 diabetes. Clinical outcome measures included: blood pressure, weight, body mass index (BMI), and Hemoglobin A1c. Results Positive and significant improvements in biometrics (blood pressure, body weight, BMI, HbA1c) were found. Conclusions The NPD Model is an early prototype for interprofessional VBHC in oral health and holds promise for improving patient and population health outcomes. Integration of interprofessional VBHC in oral health is an imperative for achieving the Triple Aim to improve the overall health of our nation.
Birch S, Ahern S, Brocklehurst P, Chikte U, Gallagher J, Listl S, Lalloo R, O'Malley L, Rigby J, Tickle M, et al. Planning the Oral Health Workforce: Time for Innovation . Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology . 2020;00 :1-6.
Publisher's VersionAbstract Benzian H, Beltrán-Aguilar E, Mathur MR, Niederman R.
Pandemic Considerations on Essential Oral Health Care. Journal of Dental Research. 2020.
Publisher's VersionAbstractThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic revealed a lack of consensus on the concept of essential oral health care. We propose a definition of essential oral health care that includes urgent and basic oral health care to initiate a broader debate and stakeholder alignment. We argue that oral health care must be part of essential health care provided by any health system. Essential oral health care covers the most prevalent oral health problems through an agreed-on set of safe, quality, and cost-effective interventions at the individual and community level to promote and protect oral health, as well as prevent and treat common oral diseases, including appropriate rehabilitative services, thereby maintaining health, productivity, and quality of life. By default, essential oral health care does not include the full spectrum of possible interventions that contemporary dentistry can provide. On the basis of this definition, we conceptualize a layered model of essential oral health care that integrates urgent and basic oral health care, as well as advanced/specialist oral health care. Finally, we present 3 key reflections on the essentiality of oral health care. First, oral health care must be an integral component of a health care system’s essential services, and by implication, oral health care personnel are part of the essential health care workforce. Second, not all dental care is essential oral health care, and not all essential care is also urgent, particularly under the specific risk conditions of the pandemic. Third, there is a need for criteria, evidence, and consensus-building processes to define which dental interventions are to be included in which category of essential oral health care. All stakeholders, including the research, academic, and clinical communities, as well as professional organizations and civil society, need to tackle this aspect in a concerted effort. Such consensus will be crucial for dentistry in view of the Sustainable Development Goal’s push for universal health coverage, which must cover essential oral health care.
Haber J, Hartnett E, Allen K, Crowe R, Roitman J, Feldman L, Fletcher J, Ng G.
Attaining interprofessional competencies by connecting oral health to overall health. Journal of Dental Education. 2020.
Publisher's VersionAbstractPURPOSE:The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an annual oral-systemic health interprofessional education (IPE) clinical simulation and case study experience with nurse practitioner/midwifery (NP/MW), dental (DDS), medical (MD), and pharmacy (PharmD) students. METHODS:The Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Scale (ICCAS) was used to measure students' self-reported attainment of interprofessional competencies before and after the IPE experience. Pre- and post-test surveys were completed by NP/MW, DDS, MD, and PharmD student cohorts from 2017 to 2019. Students also had the opportunity to provide qualitative feedback about their experience at post-test. Data were collected from IPE faculty facilitators to assess their perception of the value of the Teaching Oral-Systemic Health (TOSH) program. RESULTS:Student ICCAS results demonstrated statistically significant improvement in self-reported interprofessional competencies among all types of students across all 3 years (P < 0.001); qualitative student comments reflected positive experiences with the TOSH program. Survey data from IPE faculty facilitators supported the value of the IPE experience for all students. CONCLUSIONS:The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the TOSH program in using oral-systemic health as a clinical exemplar to develop interprofessional competencies. The 2017-2019 data reinforce the credibility of scaling the TOSH model for developing interprofessional competencies with students from different health professions.
Barrow J, Silk H, Phillips R, Riedy C.
Oral Health is Health: The Future is Now. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, Johns Hopkins University Press. 2020;31 (4) :99-103.
Publisher's Version