Conference on Improving Dental Quality through Measurement Project Summary The goal of this Dental Quality Alliance project is to establish an initial cadre of dental quality ambassadors by specifically targeting individuals who are in a position to improve healthcare quality within the profession. We believe that the need for measurement in the context of improving quality of healthcare should be understood by leaders who can interact with practitioners and administrators at the grass-roots level to successfully plan for change. This conference builds on the EBD Champion Conference series (funded by AHRQ for 2012 - X) and aims to promote performance measurement and quality improvement across the spectrum of oral healthcare. This proposal seeks support to: 1) Recruit approximately 100 interested leaders from throughout the U.S. to participate in this conference;2) Convene and conduct a conference on """"""""Improving Dental Quality through Measurement"""""""";and 3) Develop and disseminate findings and distribute tools to organizations and individuals to implement measurement for quality improvement. The proposed Conference will be held at the ADA headquarters in Chicago, IL over two consecutive days. Participants will be recruited through a voluntary online application process that will be monitored by the conference organizing committee to ensure diversity within the attendees and assess commitment to improving quality. Prior to the meeting, attendees will receive the Dental Quality Alliance's Guidebook on Quality Measurement. Through a series of plenary presentations and small group discussions, participants will gain knowledge on the need for and the goals of measurement to support quality improvement;examine emerging trends in quality, patient safety, and leadership across the dental care continuum;review measurement techniques necessary to develop and implement quality improvement projects in dentistry and;develop strategies for successfully leading and influencing healthcare improvement. Following the Conference, attendees will receive a PowerPoint slide deck, access to an online discussion forum, and other tools to allow them to communicate with their respective audiences as they engage in implementing measurement. A series of open access articles will be published that are based on the proceedings of the conference. The proposed conference is consistent with AHRQ's intent to support conferences that improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. More specifically, this project meets the conference objectives for this R13 funding mechanism because of its focus on dissemination and implementation. Our conference would be one """"""""where research findings and evidence-based information and tools are summarized, communicated, and used by organizations and individuals that have the capability to use the information to improve the outcomes, quality, access to, and cost and utilization of health care services."""""""" The ADA has world-class conference facilities, evaluation resources, staff time and dissemination capabilities that will be dedicated to this project.
The conference on Improving Dental Quality through Measurement will train up to 100 thought leaders and opinion leaders in dentistry, including practitioners, payers, and regulators who commit to promoting the implementation of measurement to pursue common goals of quality improvement in oral health. Participant selection will aim to convene a broad and diverse group of people with the ability to impact priority and underserved populations across the nation, who have significant healthcare disparities. Findings from the conference will be published and tools will be developed for distribution to organizations and individuals to help them implement measurement towards quality improvement.
