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In order to try to improve care coordination and patient experience, Pacific Dental Services is raising the bar and will be implementing a new health records system in 2020. PDS is the first dental support organization to join the Epic community, which is used by some of the largest integrated health systems in the world.
Utilizing this new system, PDS-supported dentists and specialists will have the ability to coordinate care with other clinicians who serve their patients and their families, closing care gaps and reducing duplication. Epic’s software, which is built in-house, will enable PDS to exchange data for improved continuity of care across the country. Wherever patients go, their charts go with them.
“Oral healthcare is a critical component of overall health and this investment will enable PDS-supported clinicians and their patients to more fully participate in the promise of a seamless, comprehensive healthcare system focused on whole body health.” – Stephen E. Thorne, IV, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at PDS
A majority of U.S. News and World Report’s top-ranked hospitals and medical schools use this system and are already working collaboratively every day to improve patient care, innovate healthcare delivery and achieve financial health. More than 200 million patients have a current electronic record in Epic. This employee-owned and developer-led company had 89,226,160 records exchanged October 2018.
“Poor oral health has been linked to cardiovascular disease, pregnancy and birth defects, and diabetes. Through the use of Care Everywhere, dentists across the country will have real-time access to important clinical information,” said Alan Hutchison, VP of Population Health at Epic. “As the first DSO to join Epic’s One Virtual System Worldwide, Pacific Dental Services is uniquely positioned to improve oral systemic health for the populations they serve.”
Organizations across the Epic community are leveraging telehealth in all sorts of ways, offering patient engagement including, appointment scheduling, e-visits, messaging doctors, remote monitoring, etc.
The Wisconsin-based software company allows patients and caregivers to chronicle their healthcare journey using the MyChart patient portal. MyChart gives patients, and their designated caregivers, secure digital access to their health information, enabling them to communicate with providers, schedule appointments, and pay bills online. In fact, they chose the name “epic” because, like Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, they believe their electronic health records chronicle the story of a patient’s healthcare over time.
“This is a very exciting collaboration with what we believe will be the best dental practice management system in the industry, bringing closer the complete longitudinal patient record and highlighting more clearly than ever the Mouth-Body Connection®,” said David Baker, SVP, Chief Information Officer at PDS.
Read other Pacific Dental Services stories on Group Dentistry Now – HERE
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