Receipt of Dental Care Improves Adherence to HEDIS Outcomes for Older Adults

Objectives: The dental setting presents an excellent opportunity to increase older adults’ adherence to preventive services and improved health outcomes. We compared adherence to a subset of Healthcare Effectiveness and Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures among a population aged 65+ that received dental care to a population that did not receive dental care.
Methods: Using a retrospective cohort design, we identified 1,821 adults aged 65+ who received regular dental care and 1,812 persons who did not receive such care. The groups were matched on propensity scores, were followed for 3 years, and retained medical and dental benefits during that time. Regular receipt of dental care was defined as one dental visit or more in each 12-month period.
Outcome measures were assessed among a sub-population that qualified for 1 of 4 HEDIS denominator groups (dental=1,538; non-dental=1,399) among each propensity-matched sample. They included: 1) two preventive measures (colorectal and breast cancer screening), 2) four chronic disease management services (HbA1c and LDL-c testing, and nephropathy and retinopathy screening among the diabetes [DM] population), and 3) four health outcome measures (poor glycemic control, LDL-c control, blood pressure control among the DM population, and blood pressure control among the hypertension [HTN] population). Logistic regression was used to assess the independent effect of receipt of dental care with HEDIS outcomes, adjusting for patient characteristics that differed (p < .05) between the dental/non-dental populations qualifying for the HEDIS denominators.
Results: Dental care was associated with higher adherence to: 2 of 2 cancer screening measures (colorectal and breast cancer screening), 1 of 4 disease management services (higher retinopathy screening), and 2 of 4 health outcomes (better blood pressure control among the DM and HTN populations).
Conclusions: Receipt of dental care was associated with improved adherence to 5 of 10 HEDIS outcomes among a population of older adults.