 Directions
in Dentistry
The Health Insurance Marketplace: After Managed
Care
By Dr. Albert H. Guay
Managed care appears to have run its course and many of its
features have been found unacceptable by providers and patients.
It no longer can provide adequate relief from escalating health
care costs for employers.
Report of the Chief Policy Advisor: Globalization
Globalization is a complex issue. This report attempts to discuss many of the overall economic and political aspects of globalization in a simple, summary fashion without being simplistic. Recent interest and discussions at the ADA about globalization have centered on the current and potential direct effects on dental practices. That focus is surely appropriate, but like many influences on dentistry, understanding the “big picture” and the framework within which dentistry operates is important in obtaining a good understanding of the situation and making prudent recommendations.
- Report of the Chief Policy Advisor: Globalization | PDF file/61k
Report of Chief Policy Advisor: Influenza Pandemic
The environmental scan done for the Strategic Planning Committee in early 2005 listed a potential influenza pandemic as a “wildcard” factor i.e., an unpredictable event of such gravity that it could influence dentistry and the American Dental Association to such a degree that “all planning bets are off.” Still, some consideration can be given beforehand to the realization of such an occurrence—thinking ahead about the unthinkable.
There has been some public discussion
about the imminent danger of a severe
influenza pandemic originating from
the Asian continent and the slaughter
of millions of chickens and other
birds in an attempt to prevent a
pandemic from starting. Political
leaders and health officials in several
countries have addressed this issue,
mostly decrying the lack of preparedness
for such an event. The new editor
of the Journal of the American
Dental Association made this
the topic of his first editorial.
This report is written to provide
information to assist the Board in
understanding this important subject.
The information discussed in this
report was gathered from the Web
sites of U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS), the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), the World Health Organization
(WHO), the University of Minnesota
Center for Infectious Disease Research
and Policy (CIDRAP) and the writings
of some individuals [Klempner, MS
and Shapiro, DS (NEJM); Hatta M and
Kawaoka Y (Trends in Microbiology);
and Gensheimer KF, Fukuda K, Brammer
L, Cox N, Patriarca PA, Strikes RA
(Vaccine)]
- Download the
Report of Chief Policy Advisor: Influenza
Pandemic | PDF
file/62k
The
Economic Aspects of Unsupervised
Private Hygiene Practice and its
Impact on  Access to Care
The unsupervised practice of dental
hygiene at locations remote from a
dental office is a relatively new occupational
choice in the United States. This article
reports on a study that analyzed the
economic aspects of unsupervised private
hygiene practice and its impact on
access to care.
- The Economic Aspects of Unsupervised Private Hygiene
Practice and its Impact on Access to Care | PDF
file/402k
|
