COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Oct. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hero Practice Services, the leading provider of high-quality and compassionate dental, vision, and orthodontic services to children in underserved communities, has released a comprehensive research paper addressing children’s oral health care and how states can protect our most vulnerable children. The paper, titled “Protecting Children’s Oral Health Care” is a comprehensive look at how a child’s oral health can have a lifelong impact on their overall well-being and how access to preventative care can save state budgets allocated to Medicaid over time.

The research paper is available for download on the company’s website at https://heropracticeservices.com/hps-research/.

Specifically, the paper makes the case for the following recommendations, based on research and historical performance, about how to increase access to care for low-income children.

• Provider reimbursements tied more closely to private insurance rates or other measurements to align rates and increase provider participation and patient access. This should include reimbursements from state administrators related to Medicaid payment diversions through managed-care organizations and third-party administrators.
• Clear value-based incentive structures for providers to deliver preventive care, including oral examinations, dental cleanings, sealants, and fluoride varnish.
• Support for providers with the ability to provide afterhours care for dental emergencies.
• Increased educational programs for caregivers that reinforce the value of oral hygiene, diet, and regularly scheduled preventive oral health care.
• Preservation of programs for student loan repayment for dental providers treating primarily Medicaid dental patients.
  

“Our teammates are committed to providing the best care possible to the children in underserved communities that visit our practices daily. Part of that commitment requires that we advocate for children on a broader spectrum and that is what we hope to accomplish with the release of this research,” says Joshua Gwinn, CEO of Hero Practice Services.

About the authors
Rebecca Balliet, MA is Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Business Development at Hero Practice Services. Ms. Balliet leads and supports Hero’s strategic initiatives including affiliations and de novo practices, organizational strategy as well as internal and leadership communications strategy. Ms. Balliet holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin—Oshkosh and a master’s degree in Public Communication from American University.

Brian Bishop, DMD serves as Dental Clinical Director for the Hero Practice Services affiliated dental practices. He works closely with executive management and Hero’s team of regional dentists to ensure that dental services rendered at all Hero affiliated practices are of the utmost quality. Dr. Bishop is committed to excellence in patient experiences and seeks to promote access to care for underserved children. Dr. Bishop provides continuing education to dentists in topics of pediatric dentistry. He coaches and mentors dental providers on clinical guidelines, leadership, patient/parent communication, and clinical documentation. Dr. Bishop is a graduate of Temple University School of Dentistry and completed his residency in Pediatric Dentistry at Temple Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. He promotes a culture of evidence-based dentistry and promotes the guidelines endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.

About Hero Practice Services
Hero is a healthcare practice management company focused on managing and supporting high-quality dental, vision and orthodontic practices that specialize in pediatric patients. In particular, Hero supports offices that provide care to underserved communities across the United States. Hero’s supported offices have helped more than one million children gain access to the care they need. www.heropracticeservices.com

CONTACT INFORMATION
Lisa McAlister 303.931.0955
lisa.mcalister@herodvo.com