Introducing care pathway commissioning to primary dental care: the concept.
Care pathways are defined as 'a methodology for the mutual decision making and organisation of care for a well-defined group of patients during a well-defined period'. Although most often used in Europe as a tool to improve the quality of care and to aid the continuity of care between disciplines and settings, care pathways also have an application in underpinning the commissioning process. This paper describes the development of a new model of commissioning for general dental practice services based on a need and risk assessment linked to specified care pathways for preventive care. In this system dentists are monitored on adherence to care protocols based on nationally accepted guidelines for preventive care interventions as well as recommended recall intervals for routine dental examinations. A traffic light system to distinguish between patients with different levels of need and risk of disease is being used.
Harris
R
R
School of Dental Sciences, The University of Liverpool, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5PS. harrisrv@liverpool.ac.uk
Bridgman
C
C
D000328:Adult; D019090:Case Management; D002648:Child; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D019091:Critical Pathways; D003729:Dental Care; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000517:prevention & control; D004032:Diet; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005060:Europe; D005792:General Practice, Dental; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008487:Medical History Taking; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D010808:Physical Examination; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011313:Preventive Dentistry; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013218:State Dentistry; D006113:United Kingdom