An examination of the cost and utilization of alternative payment models for oral health care over a patient’s lifetime.
By Sean G. Boynes, DMD, MS, Carolyn Brown, DDS, MEd and Eric P. Tranby, MA, PhD

According to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, the United States pays the most for health care and achieves the lowest performance among comparable countries.^1,2 In fact, dissatisfaction with U.S. health care continues to shape political talking points. It also encourages disruptive business models and drives demand for greater transparency, accountability and consumerism.^3–6 This changing health ecosystem also affects dentistry. Agencies, organizations and care teams are shifting operational and financial constructs to better align with the changing health care landscape. Currently, the transition includes a switch from a silo-based construct driven by tertiary care to a person-centered format based on inclusive, holistic health care and enhanced quality of life.^7–11

Continue reading “Exploring Alternative Payment Models for Oral Health Care” →

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — While the overall supply of dentists in Pennsylvania is sufficient to meet the current demand when assuming equal access for all residents, geographic access to oral health services is not equal across rural and urban areas. In a report, researchers in the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health (PORH) at Penn State found that urban rates of dentist supply are nearly twice that of rural rates, and that inequalities exist between areas of higher socioeconomic status and those of lower socioeconomic status.

Continue reading “Oral health assessment of children in rural Pa. demonstrates disparities” →

In an effort to better prepare and assist small rural hospitals in moving from a fee-for-service and volume-based payment system to one that is drive by value and quality, the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) administers the Small Rural Hospital Transition Project (SHRT).  The program provides technical assistance through onsite consultations to eligible hospitals that have 49 beds or less and are located in a federally-designated persistent poverty county. Core areas of technical assistance include: 1) financial operational assessment, and 2) quality improvement projects. Last month, nine hospitals were identified through the objective review process to receive this assistance in the 2019-2020 cohort of the project.  Now in its fifth year, the SHRT program shares what’s learned on issues relevant to rural health stakeholders through the National Rural Health Resource Center.  See the full list of hospitals by clicking here.

This document is a practical guide for ambulance services to use in their pursuit of sustaining effective and efficient delivery of patient care and developing into an integrated system with other agencies. It provides insights from agencies to promote integration to the benefit of the agencies, the staff, and, most importantly, to the patients.   The guide can be accessed here.

The primary goal of the Rural Community Ambulance Agency Transformation Readiness Assessment and associated resources is to help ambulance agency leaders in rural America assess the state of their agency’s readiness in the core competency areas outlined below. This assessment follows the Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Blueprint for Performance Excellence, adapted specifically for rural ambulance agencies, from the Baldridge Excellence Framework for Health Care. It provides resources and tools to assist rural ambulance agency leaders to succeed with moving from volume to value in their agency’s culture and operations. Leaders are encouraged to complete the assessment periodically to monitor their progress and receive updated resources to guide their journey.  The toolkit can be accessed here.