Cost-benefit analysis of a worksite oral-health promotion program.
(9/20)
This study was conducted to examine whether oral-health promotion programs provided as an occupational health service for employees were cost-beneficial for employers. The subjects were composed of 357 male workers (20-59 yr of age) who participated in oral-health promotion programs conducted at their workplaces between 1992 and 1997. The design of this study was a quasi-experimental study design in which the three programs (light: 1 visit; medium: 2-4 visits; and heavy: 5-6 visits) were compared through cost-benefit analysis conducted from the viewpoint of the employers. The programs consisted of oral-health checkups by dentists and oral-health education, including that on the proper brushing method, by dental hygienists. The costs of the program included direct costs for the payment of oral-health-care staff and for teaching materials, and indirect costs for the time for employee participation in the program (20 min/employee per visit). The accumulated dental expenses for the seven years were used to calculate benefits, which were determined, based on the differences between 0 visits and each program. The benefit/cost ratios of the three programs were -2.45, 1.46, and 0.73, respectively. These results suggest that a worksite oral-health promotion program of medium frequency is cost-beneficial for employers. (+info)
Dental practice satisfaction with preferred provider organizations.
(10/20)
BACKGROUND: Despite their increasing share of the dental insurance market, little is known about dental practices' satisfaction with preferred provider organizations (PPOs). This analysis examined practice satisfaction with dental PPOs and the extent to which satisfaction was a function of communications from the plan, claims handling and compensation. METHODS: Data were collected through telephone surveys with dental practices affiliated with MetLife between January 2002 and December 2004. Each respondent was asked a series of questions related to their satisfaction with a systematically selected PPO with which they were affiliated. Six different PPO plans had sufficient observations to allow for comparative analysis (total n = 4582). Multiple imputation procedures were used to adjust for item non-response. RESULTS: While the average level of overall satisfaction with the target plan fell between "very satisfied" and "satisfied," regression models revealed substantial differences in overall satisfaction across the 6 PPOs (p < .05). Statistically significant differences between plans in overall satisfaction were largely explained by differences in the perceived adequacy of compensation. However, differences in overall satisfaction involving two of the PPOs were also driven by satisfaction with claims handling. CONCLUSION: Results demonstrate the importance of compensation to dental practice satisfaction with PPOs. However, these results also highlight the critical role of service-related factors in differentiating plans and suggest that there are important non-monetary dimensions of PPO performance that can be used to recruit and retain practices. (+info)
Comparison of student productivity in four-handed clinic and regular unassisted clinic.
(11/20)
Although four-handed dentistry is routine in most dental practices in the United States, solo unassisted clinical practice is the norm for students at many North American dental schools. The objective of this study was to compare the clinical productivity of fourth-year dental students practicing in a four-handed model to the clinical productivity of those same fourth-year dental students practicing in a solo, unassisted mode at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry for the three academic years 2005-08. Students averaged 2.62 patient visits per day in the four-handed Dental Auxiliary Utilization (DAU) Clinic and 1.74 visits per day in the regular Family Dentistry Clinic. Charging fees that are approximately 50 percent of prevailing local private practice fees, the mean daily charges for services provided by individual students averaged $329 in the DAU Clinic and $190 in the Family Dentistry Clinic. The mean daily productivity differentials were 0.88 patient visits and $139. While students averaged 51 percent more patient visits and 75 percent higher charges daily in the DAU Clinic as compared to the regular Family Dentistry Clinic, the increased revenues might not be sufficient to offset increased expenses incurred in the four-handed clinical operation. (+info)
A mathematical simulation approach to testing innovative models of dental education.
(12/20)
A combination of the increasing costs associated with providing a complex clinical program and an ever-reducing education-based income finds dental schools throughout Australia continuing to face serious financial risk. Even more important is the growing workforce crisis in academic staffing faced in almost all dental schools as the impact of the widening gap between private practice incomes and academic remuneration takes effect. This study developed a model of core variables and their relationship that was then transformed into a mathematical simulation tool that can be applied to test various scenarios and variable changes. The simulation model was tested against a theoretical dental education arrangement and found that this arrangement was a commercially viable pathway for new providers to enter the dental education market. This type of mathematical simulation approach is an important technique for analysis of the complex financial and operational management of modern dental schools. (+info)
Insurance-related barriers to accessing dental care among African American adults with oral health symptoms in Harlem, New York City.
(13/20)
Economic impact of dental hygienists on solo dental practices.
(14/20)
The fact that a significant percentage of dentists employ dental hygienists raises an important question: Are dental practices that utilize a dental hygienist structurally and operationally different from practices that do not? This article explores differences among dental practices that operate with and without dental hygienists. Using data from the American Dental Association's 2003 Survey of Dental Practice, a random sample survey of U.S. dentists, descriptive statistics were used to compare selected characteristics of solo general practitioners with and without dental hygienists. Multivariate regression analysis was used to estimate the effect of dental hygienists on the gross billings and net incomes of solo general practitioners. Differences in practice characteristics--such as hours spent in the practice and hours spent treating patients, wait time for a recall visit, number of operatories, square feet of office space, net income, and gross billings--were found between solo general practitioners who had dental hygienists and those who did not. Solo general practitioners with dental hygienists had higher gross billings. Higher gross billings would be expected, as would higher expenses. However, net incomes of those with dental hygienists were also higher. In contrast, the mean waiting time for a recall visit was higher among dentists who employed dental hygienists. Depending on personal preferences, availability of qualified personnel, etc., dentists who do not employ dental hygienists but have been contemplating that path may want to further research the benefits and opportunities that may be realized. (+info)
Impact of dental therapists on productivity and finances: II. Federally Qualified Health Centers.
(15/20)
This article estimates the impact of dental therapists treating children on Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) dental clinic finances and productivity. The analysis is based on twelve months of patient visit and financial data from large FQHC dental clinics (multiple delivery sites) in Connecticut and Wisconsin. Assuming dental therapists provide restorative, extraction, and pulpal services and dental hygienists continue to deliver all hygiene services, the maximum reduction in costs is about 6 percent. The limited impact of dental therapists on FQHC dental clinic finances is because 1) dental therapists only account for 17 percent of children services and 2) dentists are responsible for only 25 percent of clinic expenses and cost reductions are related to the difference between dental therapist and dentist wage rates. (+info)
Are larger dental practices more efficient? An analysis of dental services production.
(16/20)
Whether cost-efficiency in dental services production increases with firm size is investigated through application of an activity analysis production function methodology to data from a national survey of dental practices. Under this approach, service delivery in a dental practice is modeled as a linear programming problem that acknowledges distinct input-output relationships for each service. These service-specific relationships are then combined to yield projections of overall dental practice productivity, subject to technical and organizational constraints. The activity analysis reported here represents arguably the most detailed evaluation yet of the relationship between dental practice size and cost-efficiency, controlling for such confounding factors as fee and service-mix differences across firms. We conclude that cost-efficiency does increase with practice size, over the range from solo to four-dentist practices. Largely because of data limitations, we were unable to test satisfactorily for scale economies in practices with five or more dentists. Within their limits, our findings are generally consistent with results from the neoclassical production function literature. From the standpoint of consumer welfare, the critical question raised (but not resolved) here is whether these apparent production efficiencies of group practice are ultimately translated by the market into lower fees, shorter queues, or other nonprice benefits. (+info)