The patient-centered dental home: A standardized definition for quality assessment, improvement, and integration

Objective

To develop the first standardized definition of the patient‐centered dental home (PCDH).

Data Sources/Study Setting

Primary data from a 55‐member national expert panel and public comments.

Study Design

We used a modified Delphi process with three rounds of surveys to collect panelists’ ratings of PCDH characteristics and open‐ended comments. The process was supplemented with a 1‐month public comment period.

Data Collection/Extraction Methods

We calculated median ratings, analyzed consensus using the interpercentile range adjusted for symmetry, and qualitatively evaluated comments.

Principal Findings

Forty‐nine experts (89%) completed three rounds and identified eight essential PCDH characteristics, resulting in the following definition: “The patient‐centered dental home is a model of care that is accessible, comprehensive, continuous, coordinated, patient‐ and family‐centered, and focused on quality and safety as an integrated part of a health home for people throughout the life span.”

Conclusions

This PCDH definition provides the foundation for developing measures for research, care improvement, and accreditation and is aligned with the patient‐centered medical home. Consensus among a broad national expert panel—including provider, payer, and accreditation stakeholder organizations and experts in medicine, dentistry, and quality measurement—supports the definition's usability and its potential to facilitate medical‐dental primary care integration.