Will oral health be included in healthcare reform?

Healthcare reform is on everyone's mind --but how will it affect the dental profession? Will Americans be able to get the oral health care they need?
What are the most significant issues we face?

Join the conversation and tell us what you think!

Check out highlights from our 2009 Conference!

Our 4th annual IOH Conference in October 2009 in San Jose, CA was a great success. This year's conference focused on "Defining Quality in Oral Health Care", with the nation's leading experts providing insights on best practices in evidence-based dentistry; strategies for promoting health literacy; and models for transforming patient safety and managing change at the practice level and across the dental profession; metrics for measuring quality.

Visit IOHWA.ORG to download our conference whitepaper and listen to speaker podcasts.

Let's discuss key issues ~ Tell us what you think!

Institute for Oral Health is always looking into the latest growing concerns in our health care system, and this year we're tackling "Defining Quality in Oral Health Care." Our team has been participating in conferences across the country, exploring the issues and solutions that are getting the most attention.

We've identified a few key questions and we'd like to know what you think about...

1. Health care reform is a hot topic ~ will the oral health community be at the table?
2. We're facing a lack of a sufficient oral health care workforce, so how many midlevel provider models do we need?
3. As oral health care provider education is very expensive, are we utilizing the work force already in place to the maximum benefit?

We welcome your comments on these important issues, and any other related topics you'd like to discuss. Thanks!

2nd 2009 Focus Group & Conference Keynotes Announced

ADEA Conference & 2nd IOH Focus Group
March was a busy month for Institute for Oral Health. We had an exhibit at the ADEA annual conference in Phoenix, AZ, an event that was well attended --and the weather was fabulous. Following this event, we hosted our second focus group of 2009 at the Sanctuary Resort and Spa on Camelback Mountain in Phoenix, discussing “Quality in Oral Health Care”. The panel included experts from around the country, including Dr. David Gesko and Dr. Craig Amundson of HealthPartners, Inc., who presented the good work they have accomplished in Minnesota; Dr Tim Ward and Dr. Judith Jones from Boston, who demonstrated the great things they are doing with the VA and their EMR; Dr. Kenneth Sadler of Winston-Salem, who explained the Accreditation process of AAACH; and Dr. John Snyder, who shared the dental credentialing and privileging pathways used at Kaiser Permanente in Portland, OR.

The Sanctuary Resort is a fabulous property, and we can highly recommend the accommodations and staff for their help in facilitating our group’s meeting.

Keynote Speakers Announced for 2009 IOH Conference
On October 15 & 16, 2009 in San Jose, CA, the Institute for Oral Health hosts our 4th annual national conference. This year’s theme is “Defining Quality in Oral Health Care” and we’re excited to announce our special guest keynote speakers: Dr. Richard Carmona, U. S. Surgeon General from 2002-2006; Dr. Jason Leitch, National Clinical Lead for Patient Safety and Improvement in Scotland; and Glen Hiemstra, a noted futurist and author of “Turning the Future into Revenue.”

The full conference agenda and other speakers will be available soon. For more information and to register online, please visit the IOH website: www.iohwa.org/.

Collaborate with us!
IOH strives to be a collaborative resource for cutting edge information on oral health. If you have information you would like to link to our website, please submit it for review by sending email to: info@IOHwa.org - or- use this blog forum to discuss your oral health initiatives.

IOH Explores Trends in Oral Health Workforce

In February 2009, IOH Assistant Executive Director Mary Young and IOH Business Manager Darlene O'Neill attended a workshop hosted by the Institute for Medicine: The U.S. Oral Health Workforce in the Coming Decade. It was a well attended session with a plethora of ideas about increasing the oral health care work force by looking at different models from around the world. Also presented were the ideas that we need to look at how we utilize the current work force, for example:

• Can we look at practices and expand care to children and the underserved without creating new professions that will take time to train and deploy?
• How will reimbursements be affected and how can we pay oral health professionals to keep patients healthy?
• How can we maximize the use of dentists and their knowledge and skills to provide the best care for the most people?

One very wise speaker made the statement that while it is ethical to choose not to treat the un/underinsured population, it is unethical to stand in the way of those who do choose to treat this population.

Welcome to the Institute for Oral Health Blog!

Each year, IOH spotlights a new theme of concern in oral health today and explores solutions for improving access, treatment, and delivery. We collaborate with experts and promote education to help providers and patients, policymakers and payers.

Our 2009 theme is "DEFINING QUALITY IN ORAL HEALTH CARE," focused on identifying best practices for measuring and improving quality. In addition to hosting focus groups and our annual national conference, the IOH team is often on the road promoting information at conferences nationwide. In our new IOH Blog, we'll share insights from what we learn along the way.

For the latest details on IOH events, please visit the IOH website: WWW.IOHWA.ORG.