To say that the last two years has been challenging is certainly an understatement. In our summer newsletter, we noted the practice pressures that all of you continue to face, such as overhead, infectious disease control, scheduling protocols and utilization patterns. We also shared several initiatives underway at Delta Dental of Virginia, including our exploration of artificial intelligence, our webinar series with the Virginia Dental Association, the Network Dental Advisory Task Force and expanding uses for teledentistry through our partnership with TeleDentistry.com.

Processing policies and maintaining consistency

As the pace of change continues to intensify, we strive to address the growing requirements of our customers through increased consistency and transparency. To maintain consistency in the management of claim determinations for members in Virginia and other states, Delta Dental of Virginia has conducted a thorough review of its processing policies. While there were a number of revisions made to our policies, as a network dentist, you should not notice significant changes. Any expected impacts will be shared with you, such as in our recent e-blast on updated scaling and root planing documentation requirements.

Increasing transparency

Delta Dental of Virginia's customers are also demanding increased transparency to help with making decisions on their choice of dentist, treatments and costs. To help patients make informed decisions, we are introducing the use of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), a survey tool developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), endorsed by the National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA), and used for many years by medical plans and government programs such as Medicare. CAHPS offers patients the opportunity to provide input on their experience, both with their dentist and their insurance carrier. This will give us valuable information and suggest opportunities where Delta Dental and our network dentists can make improvements for patients.

Endeavoring to meet the needs of all of our stakeholders is consistent with Delta Dental’s commitment to remain best-in-class to our members, clients and dentist partners, and to continue to work with you to improve the oral and overall health of all Virginians. We hope you find the current newsletter interesting and helpful, and we welcome your comments on topics of interest for future issues. Have a happy and healthy holiday season and much success in 2022.

Michael Weitzner, DMD, MS
Dental Director, Delta Dental of Virginia