Quality Improvement and Health Center Dental Programs

August 11 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Virtual Event

Event Overview

What is quality improvement and why are health centers concerned about it? This session will review common phrases used when discussing quality in healthcare, explain the difference between quality assurance and quality improvement, and describe quality improvement initiatives in health center dental programs. As payment systems gradually move towards value-based care, the ability to understand and utilize quality improvement tools to improve on metrics becomes important.

Learning Objectives

• Explain the difference between quality assurance and quality improvement
• Understand the relationship between quality improvement and measurement
• Learn how health centers have used quality improvement methodology to improve on the UDS Sealants Measure

Presenter

Irene Hilton, DDS, MPH, FACD

Irene Hilton DDS, MPH is the Dental Consultant for the National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA). For over a decade she has been involved in the development of NNOHA’s quality improvement and data collection resources for health center oral health programs. Dr. Hilton has served as chair of NNOHA’s HRSA-funded quality improvement collaboratives. She is also the chair-elect of the Dental Quality Alliance (DQA), the national organization that develops and validates oral health quality measures.

For questions regarding this training, please contact Shlisa Hughes.