Patient-Centered Dental Home: Clearinghouse of Existing Oral Health Quality Indicators


Dental plan members' experience with getting an appointment with a dental specialist

Characteristics
QUALITY- AND SAFETY-FOCUSED

Component
Patient-reported outcomes and patient experience indicators

Measure Concept
Satisfaction with timeliness of needed dental care

Descriptions
This measure assesses the percentage of adult dental plan patients who indicated how often ("Never," "Sometimes," "Usually," or "Always") they were able to get a dental appointment with a dental specialist as soon as they wanted. Numerator: The number of "Never," "Sometimes," "Usually," or "Always" responses to the question "If you tried to get an appointment for yourself with a dentist who specializes in a particular type of dental care (such as root canals or gum disease) in the last 12 months, how often did you get an appointment as soon as you wanted?" Denominator: Number of dental plan patients age 18 years and older who answered the question on the CAHPS Dental Plan Survey.

Measure or Standard
Measure

Populations
Adults

Level of Measure
Program/Plan

Data Source
Survey

Measure Identification
AHRQ/CAHPS

Developer/Steward
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Stage of Development/Use
AHRQ/CAHPS

Measure Endorsement