Building an inter-professional primary care oral health delivery model

The purpose of the session will be to explain the development and early implementation of an inter-professional primary care oral health model involving El Pueblo Health Services (an FQHC look-alike), the College of Nursing, and the Department of Dental Medicine at the University of New Mexico. Inter-professional practice occurs when multiple health professionals work together with patients and communities to deliver the highest quality of care. More than a referral system, more than a warm hand-off, inter-professional collaborative practice involves continuous interaction and knowledge sharing between professionals, organized to solve or explore a variety of education /care issues all while seeking to optimize the patient's participation. The overall goal of our inter-professional primary care oral health delivery model is to integrate oral health services into a primary care delivery system in order to improve the oral, and overall, health status of patients of all three distinct practices. What is truly exciting about the project is that it engages dentists, primary care providers, and nurse practitioners in exploring new roles in providing better overall care for patients. Community members, community health workers, and public health professionals are also engaged in ensuring that all perspectives are included and contribute to the success of the project. We will describe the initial processes, the evolving infrastructure and environment, and the challenges and successes to date. We hope to inspire our public health colleagues to explore collaborations with diverse partners in developing innovative solutions to access to care issues.