Dentists Are Adopting (and Adapting to) Using Telehealth to Stay Afloat

Roughly a quarter of dentists responding to a recent survey said they’re using telehealth to manage patient care during the coronavirus pandemic, and many of them plan to continue using connected health beyond the crisis.

“The numerous challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to providers and the oral health community has created a real opportunity for a new path forward in dentistry,” Sean Boynes, vice president of health improvement for the DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement, the Boston-based non-profit that conducted the survey, said in a press release. “Now is the time for innovation, to create a new model of oral health care, one that will be cost-effective, efficient and more equitable for all. What we’re seeing is that telehealth adoption and application is fast becoming a key tool for dentists to provide care that enhances disease prevention and whole-person health.”

The survey highlights the challenges faced by oral care providers in treating patients. Because of the way the virus is transmitted, dentists are among those hardest hit by the reduction in in-person care. In addition, the ongoing emergency is compelling many people to delay or skip non-urgent care altogether, forcing providers to be more creative in luring patients back.

The survey of 2,767 providers across 20 states found that 23 percent are using telehealth now, 11 percent plan on doing so soon, and 75 percent of those two groups combined expect telehealth volume to stay the same or increase over the next year. Of that group, 42 percent are using an audio-visual telemedicine platform and 60 percent are using audio-only phone calls.

The results are similar to a survey conducted in June by DentaQuest, in which about 40 percent said they were using telehealth or would soon be using the technology. At that time, however, many weren’t sure what they could do via telehealth, and most were struggling to stay afloat at a time when almost all in-person care had been suspended.

”Dental offices find themselves under significant stress as they seek to offer necessary care in a new, unpredictable environment,” the organization said at that time.

Five months later, and with the COVID-19 crisis showing no signs of abating, providers are developing a comfort zone with telehealth – and a path to sustainability.

According to the latest survey, roughly one third of those using telehealth are becoming familiar with alternate payment models (APMs) and about 45 percent are interested in learning more about how these services can be reimbursed. Those models will become more important as the industry as a whole shifts to value-based care and dentists look for new opportunities to expand to virtual care.

“Telehealth brings a wide range of benefits to the future of oral health care,” Myechia Minter-Jordan, president and CEO of the DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement and Catalyst Institute, said in the press release. “It is key to expanding value-based care in our communities and improving outcomes for both oral health and overall health.”

“As we continue to leverage telehealth as a short-term solution for the pandemic, we must ensure its longevity to make it part of the dental ecosystem moving forward,” she added. “That means taking the necessary steps right now to remove barriers that may prevent the widespread adoption or utilization of telehealth in the future.”

According to DentaQuest, providers in public health settings are most likely to use telehealth, reflecting an interest to use connected health to improve care for underserved populations. Likewise, those serving the Medicaid population are eager to adopt the technology, as they’re not seeing patients return to the office for care and want to find more ways to connect with them.

“As growth in telehealth utilization continues in oral health, permanent policy changes are vital for the widespread adoption of telehealth-enabled preventive services, minimally invasive care and care coordination,” the organization said in its press release. “Providers and state policymakers should act now to ensure that policies permit members of the dental workforce to deliver telehealth services, as well as update reimbursement policies so that both public and private insurers cover remote provider-patient interactions through live video or store-and-forward mechanisms.”