This page is part of the Dental Data Exchange (v0.1.0: STU 1 Ballot 1) based on FHIR R4. The current version which supercedes this version is 1.0.0. For a full list of available versions, see the Directory of published versions

Background

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Currently, there is no standard for the exchange of discrete dental observations between dental providers. While some dental electronic health record (EHR) systems have implemented C-CDA for data exchange, that standard was primarily built for medical care and does not include the structured data elements needed by dental providers.

The Department of Defense (DoD) and the American Dental Association (ADA) recognized the need for foundational dental data exchange between medical and dental practices and among dental practices. The DoD wishes to support the dental health of service members and their readiness for deployment. The ADA wishes to support a continued, industry-wide, drive to promote and enhance standardized and structured dental data for seamless interoperability using CDA and FHIR. Lantana Consulting Group and DentaQuest Partnership have collaborated to develop a FHIR Dental Data Exchange Implementation Guide in parallel to this CDA implementation guide.

Representatives from the DoD, ADA, and industry leaders convened the Dental Data Exchange Project in late Summer 2019. The first project milestone was identifying key data concepts that could successfully transmit a dental referral between two dental systems, or between a medical and a dental system. The project focused on adding structure to unstructured dental data elements while maintaining compatibility with FHIR US Core Implementation Guide, HL7 CDA® R2 IG: C-CDA Templates for Clinical Notes R2.1 Companion Guide, Release 2 - US Realm, and HL7 CDA® R2 Implementation Guide: Consolidated CDA Templates for Clinical Notes - US Realm.

Independently, the DentaQuest Partnership identified a need for communication and coordination of care between oral health providers and other health care disciplines. The inability of health information systems to meaningfully share data limits the healthcare system’s ability to address whole-person care across the lifespan, and is therefore detrimental to health outcomes. The electronic communication of clinically relevant medical or dental information when referring a patient to a dental provider, and the ability to close the referral loop, via a dental consultation note to the referring healthcare providers is vital to improving care coordination and provider collaboration. DentaQuest Partnership joined this project in Fall 2019, bringing their requirements to the development of standard dental referral and dental consultation notes.

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