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DentaQuest Institute Newsletter
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Winter/Spring 2017
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Quality Improvement Collaboratives
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Integrated
Oral Health
Care
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Analytics and Publications
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Clinical Oral
Health Information
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DentaQuest Announces Senior Leadership Appointments
Across the Organization
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Dr. Mark Doherty Receives President's Award
Dr. Mark Doherty was presented with the President's Award for his generous supp
ort of NNOHA and shared commitment to safety net systems and the underserved of our country. Dr. Doherty is the Executive Director and founder of the DentaQuest Institute's Safety Net Solutions program. Under his direction, the program has grown from a local pilot in three Massachusetts health centers in 2005 to a national program serving nearly 500 safety net dental programs in over 43 states.
For nearly 30 years, Dr. Doherty served as the Director of Oral Health Services at Dorchester House Multi-Service Center in Boston, where he built an FQHC safety net dental program that included several treatment sites, innovative service delivery models including specialty services, an integrated care network, and also assumed responsibility for other Boston community health center dental programs. For his outstanding work locally and nationally, and in recognition of his great vision, NNOHA was pleased to honor Dr. Doherty with its highest award.
Pictured above: Dr. Janet Bozzone, NNOHA President, with Dr. Mark Doherty.
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Welcome Rebekah Fiehn to Our Team!
Rebekah is a Project Manager for Quality Improvement and works on the Institute's quality improvement initiatives. Rebekah has a background in community health and safety net dental clinics. Prior to joining the Institute, she provided training and technical assistance on community health center dental operations and ran several primary care and oral health integration projects at the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers.
She is a graduate of Rockford University and holds a Master of Science degree in Public Affairs with a concentration in International Relations and a graduate certificate in Women in Politics and Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts Boston.
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Welcome Ilya Okunev to Our Team!
Ilya is an experienced health data analyst and comes to DQI with more than 5 years of experience, having previously worked with the DQ BA team. He has expertise in Data Analytics, Statistical Modeling and Dashboard Development.
Ilya received a bachelor's degree in Biophysics from Brandeis and a master's degree in Statistics from Columbia. When not designing complex statistical models, Ilya enjoys rock climbing, bike touring and skiing.
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Safety Net University Has Launched!
Last year the DentaQuest Institute's Safety Net Solutions Program hosted a Safety Net University (SNU) Spring Summit in Washington, D.C. This summit brought together a variety of stakeholders to discuss the educational needs of dental students, dental directors, health center administrators, and other important audiences related to successfully running efficient and effective safety net dental programs.
Harvesting the outcomes of that meeting, Safety Net Solutions, in partnership with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine, moved forward with the development and launch of a new Safety Net University platform that includes a safety net dental practice management course specifically for dental school students. This three credit course launched at MUSC this Winter and includes modules on topics such as Understanding Finance in Dentistry, Safety Net 101: Patients, Providers & Policies, Clinical Care Governance, Risk Management and Health Information Technology.
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SNS Partners with St. David's Foundation to Provide Practice Management Training Workshop
Last month the DentaQuest Institute's Safety Net Solutions program partnered with St. David's Foundation in Austin, TX to conduct an in-person group training for their Healthy Smiles Central Texas initiative. The training was attended by close to 40 safety net administrators and providers, all of which are working to improve the overall capacity and structure of their organization in order to expand access to care for uninsured adults.
The training focused on strategies to increase access to care, achieve financial viability and improve quality outcomes, and incorporated a combination of didactic sessions, interactive activities, group discussions, polling and videos.
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How Can We Sustain Our Disease Management Efforts?
Anyone who has tried to implement any kind of improvement at their practice knows the challenges of getting those improvements to "stick" over the long term. What if your champion(s) left your practice? Would that improvement still be there, a year from now?
Last month, the Quality Improvement team hosted a webinar with ECC and DCM Collaborative alumni teams focused upon how to sustain important activities to continue to practicing a disease management philosophy. The webinar referenced the
Sustaining Improved Outcomes: A Toolkit by Scott Thomas, PhD, and Deborah Zahn, MPH. This toolkit provides an introduction to twelve factors that influence sustainability, in order of importance: perceived value, monitoring and feedback, leadership, staff, shared models, organizational infrastructure, organizational fit, community fit, partners, spread, funding, and government policies.
Read More
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Transforming Oral Health Through
Rural Community Medical/Dental Partnerships
Primary care clinics from DQI's MORE Care Collaborative pilot in South Carolina have entered an exciting new phase in the development of interprofessional oral health networks in their communities. After an 18-month learning collaborative in which 6 rural primary care practices in South Carolina worked with the South Carolina Office of Rural Health, Medical University of South Carolina, and the DentaQuest Institute to integrate oral health into their well child visits, the clinics are now developing effective partnerships with dental providers within their communities. The primary care and dental providers have been working together to test solutions to barriers that typically exist between primary care and dental, such as the development of an effective referral communication plan around treatment completion.
"The deepening partnerships between primary care and dental providers in these rural communities is a testament to the dedication that the providers have to providing whole-person care to their patients," said Sean Boynes, Director of Interprofessional Practice at DQI. "So often we hear from primary care providers about the frustration of identifying a problem like dental caries, and then being unable to find a dental provider in the area who has access to treat it. Now that these partnerships are being forged and access is being opened in significant ways, it is allowing for patients with dental needs to be treated, and their disease can be managed effectively. We are looking forward to our ongoing South Carolina partnership through a HRSA Workforce Grant with Medical University of South Carolina, and continue to seek opportunities to improve the medical-dental divide."
For more information on MORE Care, please click here.
Pictured above: Dr. Monnieque Singleton, MD, Medical Director of Singleton Health Center;
Jenna Smith, RDH and Scott Garris, DMD of Santee Dental Center
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Don't Forget Our Online Learning Modules
Did you know that we currently offer
eleven CEUs
through the offerings on our Online Learning Center?
These interactive modules are educational and engaging and we are proud to offer them at no cost to you! Here is a summary of our available online learning:
DentaQuest Disease Management Series
This learning series consists of 30 to 40 minute online learning modules including an Overview. Each module was designed to promote and increase prevention-focused thinking about oral health care.
Safety Net Dental Practice Management Series
This learning series consists of 30 to 60 minute online learning modules designed for dental directors and dental practice managers. The modules provide an overview of the main components of practice management for a Safety Net Dental Program.
DentaQuest Special Topics Series
This learning series consists of individual modules designed to increase your knowledge of special topics around improving oral health. Some modules may provide information that is new to you. Others may shed new light on the familiar. In either case, the intention of each module is to enhance both your understanding and your practice and to improve the satisfaction and oral health outcomes of your patients.
Click here to access our online learning modules. Please note: You will need to Register
to enroll and complete our online modules.
FREE CEU's are available upon completion of these modules.
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AnP Team Participates in Academy Health Oral Health Webinar
Dr. Natalia Chalmers co-chaired an Academy Health Oral Health webinar with the ADA's Dr. Marko Vujicic on January 24, 2017. Policy experts discussed what dental care might look like under U.S. President Donald Trump and the new Congress during a January 24 webinar. The webinar featured five high-level panelists with expertise in health policy, economics, dentistry, and public health.
Theresa Pablos, on Dr. Bicuspid.com blog writes, "the discussion largely centered on why dentistry wasn't included as an essential benefit for adults when the ACA was created, and what might happen to the dental coverage that does exist with the Republican party's push to repeal and replace the law. The panelists were particularly concerned about children's dental benefits if the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is repealed and replaced."
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Presentations and Contributions
Tequila Terry, DentaQuest Institute Executive Director and Dr. Natalia Chalmers, DentaQuest Institute Director of Analytics and Publication, took part in the prestigious MGH Disparities Leadership Program. They are dedicated to understanding racial and ethnic disparities in oral health and the development and implementation of strategies to achieve equity in oral health.
Dr. Chalmers gave an oral presentation at the AIPHD Dental Informatics Meeting: Transforming BIG DATA into Actionable Knowledge specifically on Transforming Data into Actionable Knowledge.
Upcoming AnP team presentations include:
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NEW PrevenTips are Coming Soon!
Have you checked out our PrevenTips videos starring Dr. Brian Nový? These six, short videos are fun and engaging and will provide you with helpful tips that you can share with your patients. These videos can be found on the
main page of our DentaQuest Institute website.
Four new videos will be released soon!
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About the DentaQuest Institute
The DentaQuest Institute is a national nonprofit focused on quality in dental care.
Our mission is to support and promote optimal oral health through efficient and effective care and prevention. We emphasize a hands-on approach, working directly with oral health care providers across the country to make improvements to clinical care protocols, practice management processes, and use of technology-all with an emphasis on preventing and managing oral disease.
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