To see how the profession as a whole responded to this sudden increase in teledentistry, Dr. Singhal and her fellow researchers conducted an environmental scan of Canadian federal, provincial, and territorial organizations to review publicly available documents, including COVID-19 guidance documents from dental regulators and associations, government documents and media articles. “We traced how dentists were supported and encouraged to adopt teledentistry during that time,” says Dr. Singhal. “For example, in March and April 2020, CDA published information about remote consultations and facilitated code 05200 for teledentistry. We also wanted to determine how insurance companies viewed teledentistry and how it fit in to the larger picture of virtual health care modalities. Our environmental scan captured the conversations that were happening around those issues at the time.” The scan showed that teledentistry was acknowledged as an important tool and encouraged at all levels of government and by regulators and associations. “But not all jurisdictions developed guidance documents for teledentistry,” says Dr. Singhal. “Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and Newfoundland & Labrador developed Ultimately, it’s going to help not only people living in rural and remote regions but also, in urban communities, we know there are people who struggle to physically make it to a dental appointment for various reasons. During the pandemic, the federal government signed bilateral agreements valued at nearly $200 million to support virtual health care across Canada. This investment strengthened electronic health record (EHR) systems and helped make remote consultations complementary to the routine practise of medicine. “These improvements will influence teledentistry as well, in time,” Dr. Singhal says. Teledentistry has many benefits for improving access to care, especially in places where there are no dental professionals in close proximity. “Ultimately, it’s going to help not only people living in rural and remote regions but also, in urban communities, we know there are people who struggle to physically make it to a dental appointment for various reasons,” says Dr. Singhal. In addition, it reduces costs for both patient and provider. The patient does not need to invest time and money in travel, pay for childcare or take time-off from their job. Teledentistry is time efficient for providers with no chair preparation time between patients, which results in being able to accommodate more patients in a day. Dr. Singhal also points out that teledentistry is more environmentally sustainable because travel to and from appointments contributes to CO2 emissions. guidance documents for teledentistry during the pandemic.” Insurance companies often did not reimburse for teledentistry consultations. “We did interviews with four insurance companies,” says Dr. Singhal. “Two did not reimburse for teledentistry and two decided on a case-by-case basis. So that created a bit of barrier.” 30 | 2023 | Issue 3 Issues and People
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