Skourtes Institute

ESTABLISHING, SUPPORTING, CONDUCTING, AND PROMOTING EVIDENCE-BASED DENTAL PRACTICE METHODS TO IMPROVE ORAL HYGIENE, PREVENTATIVE CARE AND TREATMENT OF DISEASES OF THE MOUTH, TEETH, GUMS, AND JAWS; AWARDING SCHOLARSHIPS FOR RESIDENCY AND POST-GRADUATE STUDIES AND TRAINING TO IMPROVE ORAL HYGIENE, PREVENTATIVE CARE AND TREATMENT OF DISEASES OF THE MOUTH, TEETH, GUMS, AND JAWS; AWARDING SCHOLARSHIPS FOR RESIDENCY AND POST-GRADUATE STUDIES AND TRAINING IN EVIDENCE-BASED DENTAL PRACTICES FOR CLINICIANS AND MID-LEVEL DENTAL CARE PROVIDERS; AND SPONSORING ACADEMIC SCIENTIFIC STUDIES AND RESEARCH IN EVIDENCE-BASED DENTAL PRACTICES, TREATMENT, AND CARE.

IMPLEMENTING DENTAL QUALITY MEASURES IN PRACTICE SKOURTES INSTITUTE IS THE SUB-RECIPIENT/AWARDEE OF AN NIH GRANT AWARDED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT HOUSTON. THE GRANT MONEY SUPPORTS A RESEARCH PROJECT TITLED IMPLEMENTING DENTAL QUALITY MEASURES IN PRACTICE. THIS PROJECT IS A CONSORTIUM AGREEMENT ENTERED INTO BY SKOURTES INSTITUTE AND FOUR OTHER DENTAL SCHOOLS, TO COLLABORATE AND ANALYZE DATA FROM ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS, WITH THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF CREATING STANDARD QUALITY METRICS TO EVALUATE DENTAL HEALTH. DONATED LABOR SERVICES OF 32,013 FROM WILLAMETTE DENTAL MANAGEMENT COMPANY (EIN:93-1226036) WERE PROVIDED TO SKOURTES INSTITUTE TO ASSIST WITH THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THIS PROGRAM SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENT.

"INFORMATICS APPROACHES TO UNDERSTAND AND REDUCE INAPPROPRIATE ANTIBIOTIC PRESCRIBING BY DENTISTS":OUR LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO BUILD A SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL DENTAL LEARNING HEALTH SYSTEM FOCUSED ON CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT THAT FACILITATES PROVIDING PATIENTS WITH HIGH QUALITY, EVIDENCE-BASED ORAL HEALTHCARE. TO DO THIS, WE FIRST NEED TO ESTABLISH A PRACTICE-LEVEL LEARNING HEALTH SYSTEM (LHS) SUPPORTED BY AN EFFECTIVE INFORMATICS INFRASTRUCTURE, RELEVANT DATA GOVERNANCE AND A CULTURE OF LEARNING THAT DRIVES EVIDENCE-BASED DENTAL PRACTICE. IN THIS PROJECT, WE SEEK TO QUANTIFY AND UNDERSTAND INAPPROPRIATE ANTIBIOTIC PRESCRIBING, AND TO ITERATIVELY DEVELOP IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE PRESCRIBING. THROUGH A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF WHY ANTIBIOTICS ARE SO FREQUENTLY PRESCRIBED OUTSIDE OF THE GUIDELINES, WE EXPECT TO ENGAGE THE DENTAL TEAM AND PATIENTS TO DEVELOP FEASIBLE INTERVENTIONS. WE WILL CONDUCT THE RESEARCH AT TWO LARGE GROUP PRACTICES: HEALTHPARTNERS (HP) AND WILLAMETTE DENTAL GROUP (WDG) WHICH TOGETHER HAVE OVER 100,000 PATIENT VISITS PER YEAR. OUR PROJECT TEAM COMPRISES OF EXPERTS IN DENTAL INFORMATICS, HEALTHCARE QUALITY AND SAFETY, AND HUMAN FACTORS. DONATED LABOR SERVICES OF 20,362 FROM WILLAMETTE DENTAL MANAGEMENT COMPANY (EIN:93-1226036) WERE PROVIDED TO SKOURTES INSTITUTE TO ASSIST WITH THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THIS PROGRAM SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENT.

REDUCING ORAL HEALTH DISPARITIES IN CHILDREN: SKOURTES INSTITUTE HAS BEEN AWARDED A GRANT FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO. THE GRANT SUPPORTS A RESEARCH PROJECT TITLED "ASSESSING THE MULTILEVEL IMPACT OF A STANDARDIZED PREVENTATIVE DENTAL CARE SYSTEM." THE SKOURTES INSTITUTE TOGETHER WITH THE WILLAMETTE DENTAL MANAGEMENT COMPANY (EIN:93-1226036), WILL PARTICIPATE IN ALL PHASES OF THE GRANT. THE GRANT IS A PROGRAM EVALUATION OF THE PREVENTATIVE CARE MODEL USED BY WILLAMETTE DENTAL. THIS WILL INCLUDE ACCESS TO PATIENTS FOR IN PERSON SURVEYS, ACCESS TO PATIENT ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS, ACCESS TO DENTAL PROTOCOLS, ACCESS TO PATIENT DEMOGRAPHICS AND DATA AND ACCESS AND PARTICIPATION FROM KEY WILLAMETTE DENTAL EMPLOYEES. YOU ARE ABLE TO TRACK DISPARITIES SINCE WILLAMETTE DENTAL HAS A LARGE POPULATION OF MEDICAID CHILDREN IN ADDITION TO ITS COMMERCIAL CHILDREN POPULATION. THE GOAL OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT IS TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF CURRENT STANDARDIZED EVIDENCE-BASED PREVENTION AND TREATMENT PROGRAMS THAT ARE GEARED TOWARD REDUCING DISPARITIES IN DENTAL HEALTH OF CHILDREN; AS WELL AS IMPROVING THESE STANDARDIZED EVIDENCE-BASED PREVENTION AND TREATMENT PROGRAMS, PROVIDING BETTER OVERALL POPULATION HEALTH, IMPROVING THE CARE EXPERIENCE AND LOWERING PER CAPITA COST OF CHILDREN. DONATED LABOR SERVICES OF 90,560 FROM WILLAMETTE DENTAL MANAGEMENT COMPANY (EIN:93-1226036) WERE PROVIDED TO SKOURTES INSTITUTE TO ASSIST WITH THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THIS PROGRAM SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENT.

"OPTIMIZING ACUTE POST-OPERATIVE DENTAL PAIN MANAGEMENT USING NEW HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY:THIS STUDY PROPOSES AN INNOVATIVE SOLUTION TO OPTIMIZE THE QUALITY OF DENTAL PAIN MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT BY IMPLEMENTING MOBILE PHONE TECHNOLOGY TO MONITOR PATIENTS PAIN DURING THE CRITICAL ACUTE POSTOPERATIVE PHASE AFTER A DENTAL PROCEDURE. THE INCREASED COLLECTION AND UTILIZATION OF PRO DATA WILL HELP IMPROVE DENTAL CARE DELIVERY QUALITY, PATIENT-DENTIST COMMUNICATION, PATIENT ENGAGEMENT, AND PATIENT SATISFACTION, AS WELL AS REDUCE UNNECESSARY OPIOID RXS IN SOCIETY BY ENABLING PROVIDERS TO EXPLORE MODIFYING PRESCRIBING BEHAVIORS. OUR HYPOTHESIS IS A PROACTIVE APPROACH TO POST-OP PAIN ASSESSMENT WILL LEAD TO PROMPTED IDENTIFICATION OF SUB-OPTIMAL PAIN EXPERIENCES (MODERATE TO SEVERE PAIN INTENSITY), ENABLING PROVIDERS TO INTERVENE BY STARTING A NEW OR MODIFY EXISTING ANALGESIC REGIMENS WITHOUT PREEMPTIVELY PRESCRIBING OPIOIDS. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT THIS WILL REDUCE UNNECESSARY PATIENT SUFFERING, AND INCREASING OVERALL PAIN MANAGEMENT SATISFACTION.