CDA Essentials 2019 • Volume 6 • Issue 6

29 Issue 6 | 2019 | N ews and E vents An editorial 1 written by Dr. Michael Glick, editor of the Journal of the American Dental Association ( JADA ), sought to establish a common definition of person-centred care among dentists. The article posits that a common definition would better position oral health care to be included as an important part of universal health coverage conversation at a global level. More specifically, an agreed-to, common definition and understanding of person-centred care would allow collaboration within an interprofessional environment and in health care systems placing increasing emphasis on value-based health outcomes. Embracing Person-Centred Care in Dentistry Reference 1. Glick M. Precision-, patient-, and person-centered care, oh my. J Am Dent Assoc. 2019 Mar;150(3):161–62. Understanding Person-Centred Care In his commentary titled, “Precision-, patient-, and person-centered care, oh my” , Dr. Glick details the differences and treatment impacts of precision, patient and person-centred care models and posits that, “Without common definitions of basic concepts, such as person-centred care, we will not be able to generate person-centred care models for dentistry or integrate oral health within overall health and primary care.” He argues that, “Unless we sit at the table and have a common understanding of these and other prevailing health care concepts, we and our patients will not be able to argue for the importance of oral health, and oral health will continue to be marginalized.” A person-centred care approach conceptualizes the body systems as interconnected within a continuum and is rooted in respect, trust, and sharing health care decisions. Traditional, one-size-fits-all complaint-diagnosis treatment of patients does not consider the values and preferences of the individual patient. Under this approach, unless a treatment outcome is experienced by the patient as satisfactory, it should not be considered successful. It is not about providing a specific intervention that the patient wants, but rather, providing care that is important to the patient. According to Dr. Glick, a paradigm shift towards person-centred care would indeed create tensions with health care guidelines and quality assessments. Further, he highlights that this approach can present legal liability issues as well as issues for providers not skilled in evidence-based dentistry/biomedical literature. Integrating Oral HealthWithin Primary Care From a global perspective, researchers and dentists hope to see oral health care recognized as a critical component of the overall health and wellness conversation and included in health care policy. Dr. Glick tackled this topic by urging dentists to begin by establishing a common understanding of person-centred care. Because of the current focus on universal health coverage (UHC) at the global level, there is concern that in the absence of a unified definition from the broader dentistry community, person-centred care and oral health care itself could be left out of UHC framework altogether. a Approach Definitions 1 Precision-centred care: Formerly known as personal medicine, customizes interventions based on a person’s genetic or other biological makeup to achieve better health care outcomes. Patient-centred care: Focuses in on and treats distinct body systems and, conceptualizes the body systems as interconnected within a continuum. Person-centred care: Strategies are modified based on a patient’s narrative in order to empower the patient to take an active role and be a partner in determining health care decisions. Cultivates respect, trust, and sharing health care decisions.