In this blog, we listen regularly to that roaring sound in America and the UK which stems from healthcare reform. Here are just a few of the most recent notes:
- This week we heard that the United Kingdom’s General Dental Council re-wrote the rules of access to dental professionals. British dental patients no longer have to see the dentist first before seeing the hygienist, the dental therapist or the nurse. While this decree was founded on anti-competition policy, it also serves the overarching urgency to improve access to preventive care and to improve affordability as the National Health Service restructures its dental program to favour prevention over treatment.
- In the US, the debate about “mid-level professionals” or dental therapists continues with some evident progress towards certification in major states. A systematic review of studies of paraprofessionals published in the Journal of the American Dental Association reports no evidence of cost effectiveness or lower levels of disease with paraprofessionals. Yet others say there may be good outcomes and savings in certain settings, but more research needs to be undertaken. (In the context of a long-term decline in visits by American adults to their dentist, perhaps this debate needs to be re-focussed to the content or type of service rather than its delivery.)
- In my town of 25,000 (and 25 dentists), a second independent hygiene clinic announced its opening. This happened as the registrar for Ontario dentists issued four guiding principles for organizing future dental care (PDF): greater choice and information for the patient; care which is evidence-based; efficiency, and; continuous improvement.
In medical care, reforms and new thinking are also marching along.
- The Preventive Services Task Force in the US recommended healthy women at high risk of breast cancer take drugs which are normally used by cancer victims.
- The FDA and National Cancer Institute have taken a similar approach of recommending medications normally used in treating illness to prevent disease in healthy but high risk patients.
- Walgreen’s, a national chain of pharmacies in the US, announced plans to set up clinics staffed by physician assistants and nurse practitioners to screen and manage certain chronic conditions.
It seems that health care tomorrow will be vastly different from today.
For more or view the complete post please visit: http://blog.prevora.com/2013/04/more-signs-of-healthcare-reform/
Sourced from Ross Perry
Prevora Blog
