Cross-sectional study co-authored by P&R Dental Strategies’ Chief Analytics Officer examines adherence to guidelines when prescribing panoramic radiographs in children
HAMILTON, NJ, Sept. 12, 2017 — P&R Dental Strategies, LLC, the premier dental insights company delivering customized, actionable business intelligence to support a variety of dental payer objectives, today announced their co-authorship and contribution of data for a recently published study on adherence to guidelines when prescribing dental radiographs for patients under the age of 18. The study: “Prescription of Panoramic Radiographs in Children: A Health Services Assessment of Current Guidelines” by Juan F. Yepes, DDS, MD, MPH, MS, DrPH; Elizabeth Powers, DDS; Tim Downey, MS; George J. Eckert, MS; Qing Tang, PhD; LaQuia Vinson, DDS, MPH; Gerardo Maupomé, BDS, MSc, DDPH, PhD was selected for publication in the July/August 2017 issue of Pediatric Dentistry (Vol 39, No 4), a publication of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (aapd.org/publications/).
The data for the study included over 7 years of paid private dental insurance data claims from the P&R Dental Strategies’ dental data warehouse and comprised an analytic dataset of 448,880 total procedures. The data set was de-identified in compliance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) guidelines. As a result of the data partnership with P&R Dental Strategies, Dr. Juan F. Yepes, Associate Professor of Pediatric Dentistry in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children, Indiana University School of Dentistry, and the study’s other authors found that general dentists prescribed panoramic radiographs in patients younger than five years old more often than Pediatric Dentists and were somewhat less likely to follow industry guidelines.
Dr. Yepes commented, “Understanding the utilization and radiology use by dental practitioners is essential to determine whether dentists are adhering to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and American Dental Association guidelines. This research project was made possible by the research data partnership between P&R Dental Strategies and Indiana University. Access to P&R Dental Strategies’ extensive de-identified dental claims database was essential to answer our hypothesis. This study emphasizes the clinical importance of the proper use of radiation and the importance of following the guidelines.”
Paul T. Sheils, CEO of P&R Dental Strategies, said “P&R Dental Strategies was thrilled to collaborate with Dr. Yepes and his colleagues at the IU School of Dentistry on this important study. Proper utilization of panoramic radiographs in children is an important public health issue that will only benefit from continued analyses. It is our hope that the findings presented in this study encourage additional research and dialogue on this important topic.”
Tim Downey, Chief Analytics Officer of P&R Dental Strategies and co-author of the study, added “The results presented in this study underscore the value of P&R Dental Strategies’ cross-payer database, demonstrating its ability to provide meaningful insights across a wide range of cross-sectional and longitudinal retrospective dental analyses. We look forward to continued collaboration with Dr. Yepes and other researchers on future important studies.”
For more information about P&R Dental Strategies and our cross-payer database, DentaBase™, visit https://www.pandrdental.com/dentabase/
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