Introduction

This article presents key issues for oral healthcare providers to consider regarding the electronic oral health record.

Several electronic "administrative information systems" are used to maintain patient accounts, conduct billing operations, schedule appointments, and record oral charting notations.  These information systems do not yet provide for an oral health record that is standardized and consistent with data that is recorded in other electronic systems related to healthcare.  "Standardized" means that data is recorded using conventions commonly agreed upon by national and international standards committees.  Information consistency is critical if individual patient care provided by two or more healthcare providers is to be coordinated and efficient.  Mistakenly, some healthcare providers do not yet recognize the role that coordinated electronic "oral" health records and electronic health records can play in providing quality patient care.

It is critical that dentistry be included in the global community of healthcare as standards are being established for the entire array of functions included in software systems.  Dentistry cannot afford to be an afterthought, or left out entirely if it is to be truly integrated into present and future healthcare strategies. 

On a more parochial level, standardized electronic oral health records will allow the following functions not now universally possible due to the lack of standards:

• Transmission of the patient's complete oral health record, or selected parts, to a dental or medical specialist for patient care consultation.
• Electronic transfer of a patient's complete oral health record to a new dentist when the patient moves or changes oral healthcare providers.
• Transmit and receive patient radiographic and photographic images in order to facilitate consultations, third party pre-authorization, and adjudication functions.
• Receive medical test reports from medical laboratories.
• Improve the safety and accuracy of patient care by sharing critical medical and dental information between medical and dental practitioners treating the same patient. 
• Inclusion in national taxonomies as well as in diagnostic and treatment coding systems.
• Inclusion in standardized care documentation systems to facilitate interdisciplinary communication, long-term care outcomes assessment, and clinical research.

This paper describes the broad subject of the electronic oral health record as it relates to a contemporary dental practice.  Dental care providers are provided with a reasonable perspective of how to proceed toward standardizing the electronic oral health record.

Click Here To Navigate Within Article >> Abstract Introduction Brief History The Structure of the Electronic Oral Health Record Obtaining an Electronic Oral Health Record Using an Electronic Oral Health Record in Dental Practice Setting Electronic Oral Health Record Standards that Promote New Capabilities Educational Challenges The Benefactors Conclusion References About the Authors
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Citation Number: Vol. 3, No. 1, Page 044