Studies from Nationwide Children’s Hospital Yield New Data on Pain and Central Nervous System (Dental Care Differences Among the Behavioral Health Population In an Accountable Care Organization: a Retrospective Cohort): Pain and Central Nervous System

2023 JUL 13 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Researchers detail new data in Pain and Central Nervous System. According to news reporting originating in Columbus, Ohio, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “To compare dental utilization and expenditures between children with and without behavioral health (BH) diagnoses in an accountable care organization. This retrospective cohort study used enrollment and claims data of Medicaid-enrolled children in Ohio.”

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from Nationwide Children’s Hospital, “Chil-dren with 7 years of continuous enrollment from 2013 to 2019 were included. We calculated 5 dental utilization outcomes: 1) Diagnostic only visits, 2) Preventive visits, 3) Treatment visits, 4) Treatment visits under general anesthesia (GA), and 5) Orthodontic visits. Total 7-year cumulative expenditures were calculated for each outcome. Multivariable logistic regression models were run for each outcome adjusting for demographics and medical comorbidities. Among 77,962 children, 23% had >= 1 BH diagno-sis. No utilization differences were noted between children with and without BH for diagnostic only visits, treatment vis-its, and orthodontic visits. BH status modified the likelihood of having a preventive visit and dental GA visits based on medi-cal comorbidity. For example, children with BH diagnoses had significantly lower odds of a preventive visit (eg, non-complex chronic comorbidity: odds ratio [OR] = 0.87, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.85-0.89), and significantly higher odds of a dental treatment under general anesthesia visit (eg, non -chronic comorbidity: OR = 3.69, 95% CI: 3.26-4.18). The total cumulative dental expenditures were $10.5M greater for children with BH. Children with BH diagnoses were signifi-cantly less likely to have preventive visits and more likely to have dental GA visits, which was expensive.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Early identifica-tion and intervention could alter treatment approaches, improve care, reduce risk of harm, and achieve cost-savings within a pediatric accountable care organization.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Dental Care Differences Among the Behavioral Health Population In an Accountable Care Organization: a Retrospective Cohort. Academic Pediatrics, 2023;23(4):839-845. Academic Pediatrics can be contacted at: Elsevier Science Inc, Ste 800, 230 Park Ave, New York, NY 10169, USA. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Academic Pediatrics - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/academic-pediatrics/)

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Beau Meyer, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Dept. of Dentistry, Columbus, OH, United States. Additional authors for this research include Jin Peng, Janice Townsend, Paul Casamassimo, Daniel L. Coury and Charitha Gowda.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2022.08.010. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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