PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Kanan, Christine
AU  - Clester, Stephanie
AU  - Davis, Daijah Street
AU  - Edly, Heather
AU  - Adams, Crystal
AU  - Cline, J. Steven
TI  - Community Oral Health Initiative: Driving value-based transformation in North Carolina
DP  - 2024 Jun 01
TA  - American Dental Hygienists' Association
PG  - 13--18
VI  - 98
IP  - 3
4099  - http://jdh.adha.org/content/98/3/13.short
4100  - http://jdh.adha.org/content/98/3/13.full
SO  - J Dent Hyg2024 Jun 01; 98
AB  - CareQuest Institute for Oral Health’s mission is to improve the oral health of all. One way to achieve this is through programmatic initiatives, which train dental clinics to provide equitable, integrated and accessible care for their communities. The Community Oral Health Transformation (COrHT) Initiative, allowed CareQuest Institute to collaborate with the North Carolina Oral Health Collaboration (NCOHC) and Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of North Carolina Foundation to implement and support the initiative in North Carolina. This mixed methods study was designed to collect quantitative and qualitative data while 11 dental clinics and a control clinic participated in the program through the end of the program. Quantitative data included patient demographics, claims data, and financial and data measures. Descriptive statistics of participating clinics and the control clinic were analyzed, and aggregated clinic data showed improvements in patient care delivery measures. Qualitative interviews were also conducted at midpoint and conclusion, and an outcome evaluation was completed. This short report will provide readers with results from the COrHT Initiative, with an emphasis on medical-dental integration (MDI) as an integral component of comprehensive, person-centered care. The evaluation of programmatic strengths and weaknesses has been included to identify the potential for future implementation, sustainability, and policy making.