This application is directed at the development, pilot testing, and implementation of a set of outcome-based quality measures for dentistry. The focus is on caries and periodontal disease, two chronic diseases that, with their sequelae, comprise 97 percent of all claims from general practitioners of dentistry (page 42). The project will be implemented over a two-year period; the first year will be devoted to the development, specification, and piloting of the quality measures and the second year to a full-scale implementation demonstration of the measures and an evaluation of the process and outcomes in two large dental HMOs. The final product will be a user's manual containing reviews of the process of development, validity and reliability information, specifications for determining numerators and denominators, information on calculating rates, and future-use discussions.
| Bader, J D; Shugars, D A (1997) A case for diagnoses. J Am Coll Dent 64:44-6 |
