For all the strides made in recent years breaking down the many barriers to data interoperability across the healthcare ecosystem, challenges still remain. One of the biggest is sharing patient information between and among medical providers and dental practices.
A new technology developed at Indiana University offers a potential way to break down those data silos and allow for easier sharing and integration of patients' electronic health records with their dental care providers.
WHY IT MATTERS
Unlike in healthcare, where solo physician practices are getting rarer by the year, most dentists and dental surgeons still operate as independent offices. While they have electronic dental records systems with their patients' visit history and oral health data, they often still don't have easy access to their medical history or EHR information.
But that doesn't make it any less necessary for dentists to have accurate access to up-to-date medical and medication histories. That information is key to reducing the risk of potential adverse events during complex procedures, and to help ensure the success of any routine dental treatment.
Patients usually have to do that work themselves: filling out a paper clipboard in the office waiting room, each and every time they visit, with their most recent medical history and medication list.
That makes for a suboptimal patient experience. Moreover, patients can be forgetful. It doesn't guarantee that the dentist is getting access to accurate and complete information – and certainly not in a digital, easily accessible form.
Two researchers associated with Indiana University have developed an application that they say can help.
"There are outside factors that can negatively impact dental care, whether that’s allergies, respiratory problems, or medications," said Thankam Thyvalikakath, DMD, professor and associate dean of dental informatics and digital health at the IU Indianapolis School of Dentistry, and research scientist at the Regenstrief Institute, in a recent LinkedIn post.
"Our app provides this relevant medical history, so patients don't have to remember their history each visit and so dentists don't have to comb through the patient's extensive medical records for pertinent information."
Thyvalikakath, along with her colleague Shuning Li, an assistant research scientist at the IU Indianapolis School of Dentistry, says the app – developed in collaboration with the technical staff at the Regenstrief Institute – can easily connect both dentists and medical providers to state and regional health information exchanges, allowing them more timely access to their patients' medical history via the HIE.
The researchers have been awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health that they say will help them build out and refine development of the app, and they've partnered with the IU Innovation and Commercialization Office to help expand its availability and explore the optimal way to pilot the app in dental practices.
THE LARGER TREND
Just like with long-term and post-acute care and social services organizations, dental practices have long been something of an afterthought in the nationwide post-HITECH push for interoperability.
EHR giants like Epic have found their ways into some dental practices, and other dental care providers have made innovative use of HIEs and coordinated care organizations. But for too many dentists, integrating health data into their own clinical practice is still too patchwork and paper-based. The IU and Regenstrief team hopes their new tool can help change that.
ON THE RECORD
"The app is intended for anyone to use, whether it's the patient, a small dental practice, or other medical providers," said Dr. Li. "In providing real-time information access, the app facilitates direct communication between dental clinicians and patients, enhancing care coordination and patient outcomes."
Mike Miliard is executive editor of Healthcare IT News
Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS publication.
