Catalyst Institute Partners with Florida Foundation to Expand Access to Oral Health Services

The Catalyst Institute and Health Foundation of South Florida are partnering on a program designed to increase access to oral health services for underserved populations in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. A grant was awarded to the Catalyst Institute’s Safety Net Solutions™ program as part of Health Foundation’s commitment to allocate $7 million for a 5-year major oral health initiative.

Catalyst Institute’s Safety Net Solutions Advises California HealthCare Foundation

Dr. Mark Doherty and Dori Bingham of the Catalyst Institute's Safety Net Solutions Program recently partnered with Mary Kate Scott and the California HealthCare Foundation to produce a comprehensive report on best practices in community health dental programs entitled, "The Good Practice: Treating Underserved Dental Patients While Staying Afloat. To view this report, click here http://www.chcf.org/topics/medi-cal/index.cfm?itemID=133706

The goal of this oral health report, which was written after conducting in-depth interviews with oral health leaders throughout the nation, is to assist oral health professionals in determining how to better serve publicly insured and uninsured in California and nationwide. Low reimbursement rates for Medicaid dental services often become an obstacle to improving the oral health of low-income patients. Although the environment is challenging, some dental clinics have found methods to not only cope with Medicaid limitations, but even to increase their payment revenues and expand their capacity to treat low-income patients. These clinics have developed best practices that allow them to streamline operations and boost productivity.

"While the environments of care and reimbursement rates for safety net dental programs may vary from state to state, clinics across the country are facing many of the same obstacles when it comes to providing oral health to underserved populations," said Mark Doherty, Director of Safety Net Solutions and co-author of the California Health Care Foundation report. "This report provides a series of enhancements for safety net practices that will allow then to overcome many of these common obstacles, minimizing their negative impact on safety net dental practices."

This report, conceptualized and funded by the California Health Care Foundation as part of their work in oral health, outlines the necessary techniques and tools to help safety net dental practices become efficient and effective. These tools include: the fundamentals of creating a sound strategic plan: paying special attention to the reimbursement process and payer mix; achieving a smooth patient flow; designing an optimal staffing pattern; the importance of effective business systems; and implementing new technologies and clinical programs.