Barriers and promotion of integrated care in dentistry: A brief communication

Abstract

Health-care delivery system in the modern world is facing major challenges as oral health burden and noncommunicable diseases along with aging population are on the steep rise. Interdisciplinary and Integrated care are now an important component of managing patients with complex and chronic conditions. However, there are several barriers that can impede smooth implementation of this concept. Identifying these barriers is an important step toward resolving the potential problems with delivery of inter disciplinary and integrated care. Personalized care is becoming the norm in current era. This approach requires co-operation among various disciplines and foster a common ground to achieve a holistic approach in the patient-centered treatment approach. The COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the existing problems. It has united the entire health-care fraternity in the fight against this disease. Governments have utilized the services of practitioners from diverse discipline to tackle this pandemic. The interdisciplinary and integrated approach has the potential to redefine the role of dentists in managing global pandemics like COVID-19. The specific objectives of this paper are (1) to understand the barriers for various approaches at the level of education; (2) identify the barriers to the scholarship and grant-related activities to research activities of clinicians across various disciplines; (3) discuss possible solutions that would enable, students, academicians, and clinicians to formulate a collaborative approach; and (4) try and understand the possible role of dentists in managing pandemics like COVID-19.