What Primary Care Innovation Teaches Us About Oral Health Integration

Abstract

Integrating primary and oral health care is critical to improving population health and addressing health inequity exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders of the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) movement focused on building consensus for the PCMH model among diverse stakeholders in order to enhance infrastructure investment, care innovation, and payment reforms that support access and equity. This article offers 5 lessons from the PCMH movement to inform primary and oral health care integration.The American Medical Association designates this journal-based CME activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ available through the AMA Ed Hub TM . Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Patient-Centered Medical HomesConsumers want primary care that is accessible, comprehensive, coordinated, and responsive to overall health and well-being and that integrates oral and behavioral services. 1 However, despite the fact that comprehensive primary care improves population health and reduces inequity, 2,3,4 this care is hard for patients to find because of siloed payment, insurance, and delivery streams. The COVID-19 pandemic has further weakened primary care and exacerbated inequity. 5,6 Yet primary care innovators who have built momentum over the last decade might still help increase access to comprehensive care by creating patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) 7 that can connect silos. PCMHs offer advanced primary care models that do the following:• Strengthen partnerships between primary care clinicians and patients • Deliver comprehensive services through team-based, proactive approaches • Leverage technology to track, target, and evaluate interventionsPCMHs have been widely adopted by commercial health plans, states, and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). As of 2010, 44 states and the District of Columbia had passed 330 laws to support and incentivize medical homes. 8 White and Twiddy reported in 2017 that 45% of family physicians practice in a PCMH, 9 and the American Medical Association showed that 32% of physicians in 2018 participated in a medical home. 10,11

Study protocol for a pilot quasi-experimental study on oral health education for nurses and community health workers in Nigeria

“…Adopting a preventive approach to oral health and integrating oral health into general health care is now a global health priority and is essential to achieving a broader impact on the community and population level and cost-effectiveness, especially in settings with limited healthcare resources ( 2–5 ). Access to preventive interventions, early disease detection and management, and more equitable access to comprehensive, high-quality care are just a few possible benefits of oral health-primary care integration ( 6 , 7 ). However, many Nigerians do not have access to preventive dental care; as such, it remains an unmet health need ( 3 ).…”