EZCodes: A diagnostic terminology as the foundational step of quality for the dental profession
Year: 2013
Type: other
Abstract: Clearly, without a well-defined diagnosis that is documented in a standardized way throughout the literature, it will be difficult to "identify and evaluate all of the evidence with which to answer a specific, narrowly focused clinical question".37 As such, one might argue that a number of the current EBD recommendations have a low level of certainty of net benefit.As described in the ADA Clinical Recommendation Handbook, "The 'level of certainty' is the probability that the Expert Panel's assessment of the net benefit of an intervention is correct.For example, a low level of certainty may result from a lack of evidence; from studies of inappropriate design; from studies of appropriate design, which are of poor quality or have meager or no applicability; from too small and/or too few studies; and from inconsistent results between studies".37 When reviewing the American Dental Association Council on Scientific Affairs' EBD recommendations, it is clear that standardized documentation of diagnosis is paramount in the development of such guidelines: Chapter 1 20 (5) Professionally applied topical fluoride.43 The guidelines state, "The panel encourages dentists to employ caries risk assessment strategies in their practices".In order to assess effectiveness of this intervention for a single patient or an entire population, standardized documentation of caries risk level will be necessary.(6) Evidence-Based Clinical Recommendations Regarding Fluoride Intake From Reconstituted Infant Formula and Enamel Fluorosis.44 This report states evidence-based clinical recommendations regarding the intake of fluoride from reconstituted infant formula and its potential association with enamel fluorosis.For ongoing assessment and monitoring of fluorosis among infants, documenting the various stages of fluorosis in a standardized way will be paramount.(7) Evidence-Based Clinical Recommendations Regarding Screening for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinomas.45 The guidelines state, "When a clinician observes a persistent or progressive lesion, he or she may consider prompt referral to a dental or medical provider with advanced training and experience in diagnosis of oral mucosal disease before performing tissue biopsy".This will require consistent documentation of a diagnosis in an easily retrievable manner.The preference would be an electronic format, since these are easiest to retrieve.Thus, the use of a diagnostic terminology will be essential. Research project of this thesisThe study described in this thesis aims to develop a validated dental diagnostic terminology (called 'EZCodes') to enhance a proper registration of diagnostic findings for, amongst others, research in EBD.Basic principles for terminology development will be applied.Moreover, the notion to position the terminology as an interface terminology, interfacing with existing diagnostic and payment systems will be explored.Chapter 2 discusses the public health impact of the use of a standardized dental diagnostic terminology.It provides an overview of how standards are developed and accepted worldwide.As an interface terminology, the EZCodes terminology is positioned to play a prominent role in this important, but yet underexplored arena.In Chapter 3, the iterative process to develop a dental diagnostic terminology adhering to principles of terminology development is described.Additionally, a first attempt was made to build an interface terminology consisting of categories and subcategories.This resulted in 1158 terms that are mappable to:
Author: E. Kalenderian-Groenewegen
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2116046726