CORHIO, the statewide health information in Colorado, is working with insurer Delta Dental of Colorado to combine medical clinical data with dental claims data to determine how to intervene more effectively with appropriate care delivery.
Both nonprofits are tenants of the new Catalyst HTI healthcare integrator space in Denver’s River North district. The companies say that following an informal meeting in the fall of 2018, they developed a plan to tackle one of the more persistent problems in oral healthcare: people getting oral health care in emergency room settings when they should be getting regular preventive care in a dental setting.
By using CORHIO’s data services and HIE technology to analyze clinical and claims data for a certain segment of Delta Dental’s membership, the partners said they are attempting to identify opportunities to identify proactive care to improve the patient experience and population health and reduce the cost of healthcare.
Traditionally the financing and delivery of oral health care and medical healthcare have been siloed, yet evidence suggests that improved oral health lowers overall healthcare costs and outcomes. By joining medical clinical data with dental claims data, the two companies can determine how to intervene more effectively with appropriate care delivery in the future. Delta Dental and CORHIO will incorporate the findings into a mutually developed white paper that they plan to share publicly. “This ground-breaking project with Delta Dental is the culmination of years of hard work by so many healthcare organizations in Colorado who are dedicated to building robust health information exchange,” said Morgan Honea, CEO of CORHIO, in a prepared statement. “Through this collaboration, we’re incredibly excited to work together for greater integration between physical and oral healthcare providers to improve patient outcomes and experiences. We are thrilled that the idea for this exciting project transpired at Catalyst HTI, a community of innovators we are proud to be a part of.”
