The DentaQuest Institute has formed a National Oral Health Quality Improvement Committee to discuss how the oral healthcare system can use tools of quality and accountability to provide better care.
The committee has developed a new report, "A Vision for the U.S. Oral Health System for 2023," to capitalize on opportunities and overcome known barriers in the oral healthcare system, according to the institute.
It also recognizes the transition underway in healthcare payment systems from volume (fee-for-service, visits, enrollees) to value (healthcare outcomes and value for patients), and considers the essential interplay of patients with medical, behavioral, and social resources in managing their own disease.
It emphasizes the following seven areas:
- Coverage -- public and private -- across the age and income spectrum
- Adoption of chronic disease management approaches
- Family and community-level health promotion
- Low-cost, prevention-oriented, community-based oral healthcare delivery
- Payment and incentives based on health outcomes
- Public understanding of the importance of oral health
- Networks of care providers cooperating to improve oral health outcomes
