Providers Are the Vital Link Between IHN-CCO Patients & Dental Care May 12, 2016 Do you provide care for a diabetes patient with dental pain or gum issues, a pregnant mother in need of oral hygiene instruction, a child having difficulty with oral hygiene or dental pain, or a patient with a substance abuse disorder? These are just a sample of situations in which a provider may encounter a patient’s need for dental care. Rest assured, if that patient is an InterCommunity Health Network CCO (IHN-CCO) member, they have a dental provider ready to help! With the integration of dental care into IHN-CCO, over 97 percent of IHN-CCO members were assured a dental home and access to timely and appropriate dental care. This was a major leap forward in integrating dental care with physical and mental health. However, many members still report having issues accessing dental care. Our providers have given us feedback that they do not know how to initiate a referral to a dental provider or whom to refer to. How to connect your IHN-CCO patients with dental providers You can use your provider portal to do this — just look up the member. IHN-CCO contracts with four dental plans for our IHN-CCO members. These plans will help coordinate getting members in to see their dental providers and are tasked with making sure members are getting appropriate dental care: Advantage Dental Capitol Dental ODS Community Health Willamette Dental Group Samaritan Health Plan Operations’ Customer Service is also available to help determine which plan a member is assigned to. Feel free to contact the Customer Service Department at 541-768-5207 or 1-888-435-2396, Mon. – Fri., 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information about integrating oral health programs and services in your clinic, please contact us and let us know you would like to be connected with one of our dental coordinators.
