Today’s Dental Commitment To Quality Dental Care

Discussions about “quality” in healthcare are everywhere these days, it seems. But what does that mean? Does everyone responsible for your family’s health care measure the quality of that care? And how do you know if your healthcare provider is giving good quality care? In this article, we will look at how providers at our Today’s Dental practices assess, measure, and control our process to deliver quality care to all patients.  

 

Quality measurements have long been present in our healthcare systems. Over the past decade or so, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) developed and refined transparent metrics to help consumers discern whether their providers have good quality ratings. To improve patient safety and the patient experience in a hospital setting, CMS developed the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, or “HCAHPS”. After receiving care, patients are surveyed for their experience with several aspects of their care: the ease of communication with nurses and doctors, responsiveness of the hospital staff, cleanliness and quietness of the hospital environment, communication and education about their medicines, and their experience with discharge from the hospital or transition to a new facility. The entry of HCAHPS scores into the care equation resulted in many healthcare systems creating entire departments dedicated to the patient experience- a great move towards improving quality of care for patients.  

 

Beyond these formal measurements of quality, it is also hard to ignore the impact of social media and the internet on the patient’s perception of quality. Healthcare providers are now consistently receiving real-time feedback from consumers on their experience- causing those providers to be more aware, and in some cases, even rethink the patient experience they deliver. Online platforms like Health Grades® have given the average person an easy way to research other patient’s reviews of healthcare providers from various specialties.  

 

To help provide consistent quality and patient experience across oral healthcare, the American Dental Association (ADA) has developed standardized measurements of quality called the Dental Quality Alliance (DQA).  As it stands today, less than one percent of dental practices across the United States have systems in place to measure the quality of care they provide.  

 

At Today’s Dental, we are extremely proud to say we are among that one percent of oral healthcare providers who have implemented a quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) program. We utilize standardized measurements across all our practice locations to show our dedication and commitment to delivering quality oral healthcare.  

 

We focus on eleven measures of quality. Within each of these categories, we have developed a scoring system to determine our performance for each element of a patient’s care. Patient charts are regularly audited by our practice leadership to ensure we are consistently meeting or exceeding the quality standards we have set for ourselves.  

 

Of course, every patient of Today’s Dental receives care that meets the standards of care set forth by our industry and regulatory bodies. But our quality program is designed to help us measure where we are doing well and where we could do better when it comes to the quality of care we deliver. This type of standardized measurement also helps us benchmark our performance against other dental practices. We strive to exceed those benchmarks and commit to maintaining an atmosphere of continuous quality improvement for our patients. Here are the eleven main areas of focus for our QA/QC program: 

 

• Charting– ensuring timely and accurate charting for all patients 
• Evaluation– giving each patient a thorough evaluation of their oral health and any concerns they have about their oral health 

• Diagnosing– accurate diagnosis of conditions 
• Clinical notes– thorough and clear notes from the clinicians for each patient’s appointment, diagnosis, and treatment plan 
• Routine x-rays/photos– all images taken of the patient’s teeth are clear and of the best quality for evaluating them 
• Pre- and post-operative x-rays/photos– images taken to aid in the treatment of a dental issue are of high quality and clearly capture the problem to be addressed 
• Treatment plan– each patient has a treatment plan included in their chart for next steps to treat any dental issues uncovered at their appointment 

• Insurance codes– using the correct codes to submit to a patient’s insurance to ensure appropriate patient cost and practice reimbursement for all exams and treatment 
• Periodontal evaluation– ensuring each patient has a thorough evaluation of their gum health documented in their chart 
• Medical history– taking a comprehensive medical history of each patient and reviewing it for changes each time a patient visits our office 
• Consent forms and care calls– ensuring we always have the appropriate consent forms for treatment and following up with patients after their treatment to ensure satisfactory progress and outcomes 

 

We have voluntarily formulated and adopted this QA/QC program because we want our patients to know we care deeply about their oral health and the experience they have with providers at our facilities. By implementing these quality standards with our proven process, we push ourselves to be the best we can be for our patients. We hope to be industry leaders who inspire other oral healthcare practices to adopt the same quality-first mindset.