outcomes

Quality Measures Need Measures of Quality

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An article titled “Quality Measures Need Measures of Quality” appears in the 2016 Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, issue 74, pp. 1101-1102, and written by Thomas Dodson. The article discusses how nowadays doctors have a lot more access to information thanks to the information technology revolution. He discusses HIPAA and electronic medical records (EMRs). The author states “EMRs were introduced—we were promised—to make patient information portable and to improve communication between providers, thus improving patient safety and quality of care. In truth, these were secondary intentions, the first and overriding being Medicare’s (now CMS’) need to provide comparable data across institutions in order to control costs and monitor utilization.” In the article he talks about compliance with data capture and automation and how with quality measures oral surgeons are not much farther now than in 1984. Measures of quality, … Read more

Periodontal Disease and Pregnancy Risks

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An often disagreed point in the literature is whether or not periodontal disease is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm births and low birth weight. I have discussed this some more on the risks of keeping wisdom teeth page over at http://www.teethremoval.com/risks_of_keeping_wisdom_teeth.html. I discussed how in a meta-analysis of 10 randomized trials in January 2011 found no evidence in favor of periodontal disease being associated with preterm births and low birth weight. The source for this study is Mariana Fampa Fogacci and et al. The Effect of Periodontal Therapy on Preterm Low Birth Weight: A Meta-Analysis. Obstetrics & Gynecology. vol. 117. issue 1. pages 153-165. January 2011. In a letter in J Can Dent Assoc 2012; 78: c120 there is an articled titled “Periodontal Disease and Pregnancy Risks,” which was published on on September 24, 2012 over at http://www.jcda.ca/article/c120 … Read more