Biomaterial Database

The department of Veterans Affairs oral health services and eligibility. 1995

J A Jones, and M Fonseca, and P Levinson, and G Gibson

Dental Service, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital, Bedford, MA 07130, USA.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) operates one of the largest health care systems in the nation; more than 2.5 million veterans receive care annually. Among the special foci of care within VA is the Dental Service. The Department of Veterans Affairs Dental Service is the largest dental care system in the nation and the largest hospital-based dental care system in the world, receiving more than 1.2 million visits annually. The authors describe the VA dental care system and the larger health care system in which it is embedded. How the system is organized, who is eligible for services, who uses care, and what types of services are used are detailed. Compared with medical care, eligibility for VA dental care is more complex and differs for inpatients and outpatients. Outpatients account for 65% of patient visits and 76% of treatment provided in VA dental clinics. The two largest groups of users are inpatients with compelling medical needs (17%) and outpatients who are totally disabled (24%). A wide variety of services is provided, ranging from diagnostic and preventive care to insertion of crowns, bridges, and removable prostheses. Changes in the nation's health care system mandate introspection by all health agencies. The goal of the VA Dental Service is to become veterans' first choice for dental care. Information needed by VA to best respond to the needs of veterans include the following: (1) reasons for why eligible veterans do not use VA dental care; (2) veterans' oral health needs; (3) definition of optimum care and whether it varies as a person moves from functional independence to dependence; (4) whether VA is providing the most cost-efficient care possible and is best utilizing allied health professions; and (5) whether this care is best provided in a hospital setting. Modifications of data gathering systems are required as a first step to providing the needed information.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007297	Inpatients	Persons admitted to health facilities which provide board and room, for the purpose of observation, care, diagnosis or treatment.	Inpatient
D008297	Male		Males
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D009937	Organizational Objectives	The purposes, missions, and goals of an individual organization or its units, established through administrative processes. It includes an organization's long-range plans and administrative philosophy.	Goal Setting, Organizational,Goals, Organizational,Objectives, Organizational,Organizational Goals,Goal Settings, Organizational,Goal, Organizational,Objective, Organizational,Organizational Goal,Organizational Goal Setting,Organizational Goal Settings,Organizational Objective,Setting, Organizational Goal,Settings, Organizational Goal
D010045	Outpatients	Persons who receive ambulatory care at an outpatient department or clinic without room and board being provided.	Out-patients,Out patients,Out-patient,Outpatient
D011787	Quality of Health Care	The levels of excellence which characterize the health service or health care provided based on accepted standards of quality.	Pharmacy Audit,Quality of Care,Quality of Healthcare,Audit, Pharmacy,Care Quality,Health Care Quality,Healthcare Quality,Pharmacy Audits
D003362	Cost-Benefit Analysis	A method of comparing the cost of a program with its expected benefits in dollars (or other currency). The benefit-to-cost ratio is a measure of total return expected per unit of money spent. This analysis generally excludes consideration of factors that are not measured ultimately in economic terms. In contrast a cost effectiveness in general compares cost with qualitative outcomes.	Cost and Benefit,Cost-Benefit Data,Benefits and Costs,Cost Benefit,Cost Benefit Analysis,Cost-Utility Analysis,Costs and Benefits,Economic Evaluation,Marginal Analysis,Analyses, Cost Benefit,Analysis, Cost Benefit,Analysis, Cost-Benefit,Analysis, Cost-Utility,Analysis, Marginal,Benefit and Cost,Cost Benefit Analyses,Cost Benefit Data,Cost Utility Analysis,Cost-Benefit Analyses,Cost-Utility Analyses,Data, Cost-Benefit,Economic Evaluations,Evaluation, Economic,Marginal Analyses
D003752	Dental Health Services	Services designed to promote, maintain, or restore dental health.	Health Services, Dental,Services, Dental Health,Dental Health Service,Health Service, Dental,Service, Dental Health
D004608	Eligibility Determination	Criteria to determine eligibility of patients for medical care programs and services.	Eligibility Certification,Certification, Eligibility,Certifications, Eligibility,Determination, Eligibility,Determinations, Eligibility,Eligibility Certifications,Eligibility Determinations
D005260	Female		Females