Anthem Blue Cross Launches Dental Patient Health History Tool to Improve Patient Outcomes and Reduce Employer Costs

2019 AUG 21 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Anthem Blue Cross (Anthem) recently launched an innovative, first-of-its-kind solution giving dentists the access to view integrated patient health histories in real time. This allows healthcare providers to co-manage chronic conditions, increase instances of early detection, improve patient outcomes and experiences, and reduce costs for employers and patients.

“Anthem is committed to improving lives and communities, and simplifying healthcare for those we serve. That is why we are continuously looking for ways to improve patient health outcomes and reduce costs for employers,” said Scott Towers, President of Anthem’s Dental division. “Because 90 percent of diseases’ first symptoms are oral, improving early detection is crucial to successful treatment. The Dental Patient Health History tool provides dentists with a previously unavailable wealth of patient care and condition history allowing them to make more informed decisions and improve outcomes. We are driving a new healthcare approach, one that treats the health of the whole person, which we believe will lead to more proactive and less costly patient treatment.”

By providing dentists with extensive, integrated patient information - including prescription medications, medical diagnoses, care gap alerts and lab test results - the Dental Patient Health History tool offers an unprecedented and more comprehensive view of a person’s overall health. This solution helps dentists better identify new or existing health risks including oral cancer, diabetes, autoimmune conditions, or side effects from medications prescribed by other providers in an effort to mitigate complications and support patient health.

The new Dental Patient Health History tool is secure and in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Seamless access to diagnostic information, such as ICD-10 medical codes accompanied by simple explanations, grants dentists who are unfamiliar with ICD coding a better understanding of the information. This, coupled with an integrated view of their patients’ overall health provided in a convenient, secure online format, enables them to provide improved care and support. The tool, which is available to dentists in Anthem’s dental preferred provider organization (PPO) network, is the only solution on the market that provides consolidated access to a patient’s health history, beyond dental records.

For dental providers, the new tool helps them to provide more coordinated and comprehensive care to their patients.

“Anthem’s Dental Patient Health History tool is an amazing feature that allows me to see my patients’ medical and prescription history,” said Marc Schwartz, DDS, Wilshire Dental Group in Los Angeles. “Having access to this pertinent medical information gives me a more accurate picture of my patients’ health so I can deliver more safe and timely treatment.”

The Dental Patient Health History tool builds upon similar market-leading capabilities already available to Anthem eye care providers. In 2018, the health history tool helped eye care providers identify more than 30,000 patients with diabetes through an eye exam under Anthem’s Whole Health Connection® program. Whole Health Connection is Anthem’s integrated care approach connecting medical, pharmacy, behavioral health, dental, vision, disability, supplemental claims and clinical data. By making information available to each patient’s practitioners across different fields of care, Whole Health Connection allows them to identify and close gaps in care, lower costs, and ultimately deliver a better healthcare experience. This information allows medical professionals to recommend more preventative measures to patients, which in turn reduces healthcare costs for employers while improving employees’ healthcare outcomes. About Anthem Blue Cross in California Anthem Blue Cross is the trade name of Blue Cross of California. Anthem Blue Cross and Anthem Blue Cross Life and Health Insurance Company are independent licensees of the Blue Cross Association. ® ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross Association. Also follow us on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/AnthemBC_News or http://Twitter.com/AnthemBlueCross, on Facebook at http://Facebook.com/AnthemBlueCrossCA. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190807005149/en/

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