VALUE-BASED ORAL HEALTH CARE: IMPLEMENTATION LESSONS FROM FOUR CASE STUDIES

Abstract

Value-Based Healthcare has gained considerable attention in medicine but relatively little in oral health care so far. Implementation of Value-Based Oral Health Care (VBOHC) is complicated by a multitude of system-level and contextual factors, especially the siloed innovation culture in dentistry which has been evolving separately from the broader medical system. Previous literature has described 4 key limitations to adaptation of value-based health care, that is creating multidisciplinary units, measuring patient-centered outcomes, attributing and communicating costs, and bundling payments. This paper presents 4 case studies on oral health care which provide relevant learnings about addressing challenges when seeking to implement VBOHC: (i) The Nurse Practitioner-Dental (NPD) Model outlines an approach for creating a multi-disciplinary center in monitoring chronic diseases improving healthcare outcomes; (ii) Treatment of Early Childhood Caries displays the utility of quality measures in value measurement and placing patients at the center of their care; (iii) ClearChoice Dental Implant Centers outlines how cost attribution leads to better management and creation of value centers; and (iv) Proposed Payment Model Changes in Oral Maxillofacial Surgery outlines a method to cover all episodic care of this otherwise expensive disease. Despite the challenges of implementing VBOHC, this paper provides insights into its feasibility and actionability.