The patient‐centered dental home: A standardized definition for quality assessment, improvement, and integration

Abstract

Objective To develop the first standardized definition of the patient‐centered dental home (PCDH). Data Sources/Study Setting Primary data from a 55‐member national expert panel and public comments. Study Design We used a modified Delphi process with three rounds of surveys to collect panelists’ ratings of PCDH characteristics and open‐ended comments. The process was supplemented with a 1‐month public comment period. Data Collection/Extraction Methods We calculated median ratings, analyzed consensus using the interpercentile range adjusted for symmetry, and qualitatively evaluated comments. Principal Findings Forty‐nine experts (89%) completed three rounds and identified eight essential PCDH characteristics, resulting in the following definition: “The patient‐centered dental home is a model of care that is accessible, comprehensive, continuous, coordinated, patient‐ and family‐centered, and focused on quality and safety as an integrated part of a health home for people throughout the life span.” Conclusions This PCDH definition provides the foundation for developing measures for research, care improvement, and accreditation and is aligned with the patient‐centered medical home. Consensus among a broad national expert panel—including provider, payer, and accreditation stakeholder organizations and experts in medicine, dentistry, and quality measurement—supports the definition's usability and its potential to facilitate medical‐dental primary care integration.

How do you implement value‐based care methodologies in dentistry with existing dental organizational paradigms?

“…Similar to the development of behavioral health integration into primary care, dentistry options have evolved directionally from colocation to less disruptive bidirectional approaches. For example, a recent national initiative determined the need for a patient‐centered dental home (PCDH) and developed a model definition and measure framework aligned with the PCMH 10 . The preferred type of quality measures are outcome measures, which are still largely elusive in oral health due to underdeveloped quality measurement system and limited array of current quality measures.…”

“…For example, a recent national initiative determined the need for a patient-centered dental home (PCDH) and developed a model definition and measure framework aligned with the PCMH. 10 The preferred type of quality measures are outcome measures, which are still largely elusive in oral health due to underdeveloped quality measurement system and limited array of current quality measures. This need spurred inception of the Dental Quality Alliance (DQA), a national multistakeholder organization with mission to advance performance measurement.…”

Facilitating Green Supply Chain in Dental Care through Kansei Healthscape of Positive Emotions

“…Dentistry is highly energy- and resource-intensive with a significant environmental impact. Having the nature of service industries, dental service is a highly interactive experience between care providers and receivers [93]. Communication and participation influence client satisfaction and perceived value [94].…”

Emergency department visits at Rambam health care campus, Israel: non-trauma related dental conditions

“…We are aware of the Patient-Centered Medical-Dental Home (PCM-DH) project, which aspires to build an enhanced dental health care model in the United States. According to this model, each patient has a personal physician and/ or dentist who leads a team of clinical care providers and staff who take collective responsibility and take care of all patient's health care needs [11]. Implementation of such a model in Israel might reduce the number of visits to the ED, but unfortunately this is unlikely to happen in the near future.…”