FYI

Beginning April 2, you can find a new quality rating system in the dentist directory: DentaQual. Here are a few points to help you understand how your DentaQual score helps new patients find you by objectively quantifying what makes you a great dentist.

What is DentaQual?

DentaQual is a ratings system developed by P&R Dental Strategies that showcases the quality of the care you provide to your patients. By providing a comprehensive, uniform metric, DentaQual boosts patients’ trust in your care and confidence in their outcomes. Your DentaQual score appears on your dentist directory listing and is updated monthly.

What makes DentaQual scoring objective?

P&R Dental Strategies is a neutral third-party dental informatics company that is not owned by any insurance carriers. DentaQual ratings are determined using treatment data only. Instead of relying on subjective patient testimonials, DentaQual is based on a statistical analysis of de-identified and aggregated claims data. The metrics that are scored are:
 

• Treatment outcomes
• Commitment to best practices
• Cost-effectiveness
• Patient retention
• Treatment recommendations
   

All scoring is based on standard deviation from the norm, with the “the norm” representing the average level of quality in the dentist’s three-digit ZIP code region and specialty. DentaQual’s data comes from DentaBase, P&R Dental Strategies’ multi-payer, de-identified and aggregated claims database. DentaQual ratings do not include Medicaid claims data.

How can DentaQual help my practice?

Your DentaQual score serves as another resource to attract new patients. Unlike an online review you might find on social media, DentaQual’s objectivity means that the quality of your work as a dentist will be able to speak for itself. When it comes to online reviews, patients often review dentists like they would a restaurant, prioritizing personality and speed of service over quality of care.

Will every dentist in the Delta Dental network have a DentaQual rating?

Ratings will be applied to Delta Dental PPO™ and Delta Dental Premier® dentists in our 15 enterprise states and the District of Columbia. DeltaCare® USA dentists within those geographic areas who also participate in the PPO and Premier networks will also be rated. At this time, DentaQual scores will only be shown on the directory pages for dentists with enough available data to be rated. The data will be refreshed on a monthly basis, so if you don’t currently have a score, you may in the future as more data becomes available.

I’m in a group practice with other dentists and we all share the same patients. Will we have different ratings?

DentaQual scoring is based on claims data from the dentist who performs the treatment through his or her NPI. Because of this, your rating may differ from those of other dentists at the same practice.

If you have more questions about DentaQual or your score, please reach out to P&R Dental Strategies at DentaQual@pandrdental.com. You can also request a copy of your rating summary for reference.