Review of clinical pathway used in dental pilot programme published
Review of the clinical pathway used in the dental pilot programme makes a number of recommendations to improve the pathway approach.
Applies to England
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The recommendations in this review include:
- revising the pathway to provide an option for patients who are currently unwilling or unable to accept the offer of professional preventive activity
- applying the clinical domains of the pathway selectively such as bypassing gum disease or dental decay risk assessment for patients who have no teeth
- revising the need/risk assessment and suggested preventive activities, including interim care management (ICM) for some patient groups
The 3 current pilot software suppliers are working on incorporating these recommendations into their systems and these will be operational from 1 April 2013. The review was predominantly undertaken by clinical colleagues participating in the pilot programme.
The dental pilot programme commenced in July 2011 and is testing ideas for a new contract based on registration, capitation and quality. The clinical service offered to patients is common to the 3 pilot types.
The clinical service aims to provide high quality clinical care appropriate to the needs of individual patients. As the most common dental conditions (tooth decay and gum disease) are largely preventable, there is an emphasis on prevention and patient self care within the clinical model.