Dental Providers’ Perspectives on Diagnosis-Driven Dentistry: Strategies to Enhance Adoption of Dental Diagnostic Terminology

Enihomo Obadan-Udoh, Lisa Simon, Jini Etolue, Oluwabunmi Tokede, Joel White, Heiko Spallek, Muhammad Walji and Elsbeth Kalenderian
Additional contact information
Enihomo Obadan-Udoh: Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, 707 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Lisa Simon: Department of Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Jini Etolue: Department of Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Oluwabunmi Tokede: Department of Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Joel White: Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, 707 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Heiko Spallek: Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia
Muhammad Walji: Health Science Center, University of Texas at Houston, Houston, TX 77054, USA
Elsbeth Kalenderian: Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, 707 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-10

Abstract: The routine use of standardized diagnostic terminologies (DxTMs) in dentistry has long been the subject of academic debate. This paper discusses the strategies suggested by a group of dental stakeholders to enhance the uptake of DxTMs. Through unstructured interviewing at the ‘Toward a Diagnosis-Driven Profession’ National Conference held on 19 March 2016 in Los Angeles, CA, USA participants were asked how enthusiastic they were about implementing and consistently using DxTMs at their work. They also brainstormed on strategies to improve the widespread use of DxTMs. Their responses are summarized by recursive abstraction and presented in themes. Conference participants were very enthusiastic about using a DxTM in their place of work. Participants enumerated several strategies to make DxTMs more appealing including: the use of mandates, a value proposition for providers, communication and education, and integration with EHRs and existing systems. All groups across the dental healthcare delivery spectrum will need to work together for the success of the widespread and consistent use of DxTMs. Understanding the provider perspective is however the most critical step in achieving this goal, as they are the group who will ultimately be saddled with the critical task of ensuring DxTM use at the point of care.

Keywords: clinical coding; dental practice management; dental records; healthcare quality; diagnostic terminology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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