DQA moves forward with evidence-based initiatives

The Dental Quality Alliance (DQA) has made great strides this year in its work to develop oral health quality measures in response to legislated mandates, members noted at a November 2 meeting of the DQA in Chicago.

The DQA has become a recognized authority in the field of oral health measurement and will set the standard for how collaborative, evidence based measures should be developed for oral healthcare in the future, according to Chris Smiley, DDS, chairman of the alliance.

The DQA is an organization of more than 27 stakeholders that was formed at the request of the U.S. Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services. Members include representatives from public and private payor organizations, public health, and provider organizations. The ADA serves as the lead agency and provides support services.

The year began with the completion of an environmental scan of pediatric measures, Dr. Smiley noted. From the gaps identified through this scan, the DQA R&D Committee, chaired by Jim Crall, DDS, who represents the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry on the DQA and is the chair of public health and community dentistry and a professor of pediatric dentistry at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Dentistry, developed an initial core set of pediatric oral health measures.

This year the alliance also produced video tutorials developed by its Education Committee, chaired by Ron Hunt, DDS. These videos have now been posted to the DQAWeb page. The first series, consisting of four tutorials, provides information on the basics of measurement.

At the November 2 meeting, Jill Herndon, PhD, of the University of Florida's Institute for Child Health Policy presented a plan for testing the validity and reliability of these measures, a step necessary for final adoption for use of these measures by public payors.

The DQA also received a report on e-measurement from its committee on Electronic Health Records, chaired by Huong N. Le, DDS. This committee includes members from practice management software venders, care providers, payors, and representation from the Office of the National Coordinator. They have begun specification of the DQA's core measure set for e-measurement utilized with electronic dental records. The initial measures developed by the DQA rely on claims data for analysis, but likely all future measure development by the DQA will include e-measure specification.

Measuring the delivery of care with proven outcomes will promote utilization of these services and raise the level of oral health for the targeted population, Dr. Smiley noted. Tracking of measurement will provide for continuous learning to provide the public, providers, and plan decision-makers the tools they need to make sound care decisions.

The DQA is hosting a conference to build awareness of measurement's role in oral health, June 28-29, 2013, in Chicago. The conference will be funded through a grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. An application to attend this conference will be posted on the DQA Web page in January.

Click here for more information on the DQA.