by Marc Fredson
Our 2015-2020 Strategic Plan focuses on excellence in patient care, education and discovery. This month we feature the Patients/Health section of the plan.
For many years the clinical areas within the School of Dentistry have functioned as separate units. This structure can be difficult for both our patients and staff. It can be difficult for patients to transition their care from one clinic to another. They may receive bills from multiple systems. Those of us who work here may not know the full range of services that we provide.
Our strategic plan now directs us to unify our excellent clinical services under the banner of UCSF Dental Center. UCSF Dental Center is the “brand” that we advertise to our patients. We want to be known in the community as the place to go for any oral health care need. We want to make it easy for patients to find us, and we want them to have an extraordinary experience.
We will place a priority on access – getting patients into appointments when they want to be seen – as well as patient satisfaction. Measures of patient satisfaction, such as how often patients had a positive experience with their doctor or how quickly they received care, are associated with better oral health.
As we work to create an integrated, coordinated center for oral health care, we are committed to providing our patients with care that is:
- Safe — We will avoid injuring our patients in the course of providing care that is intended to help them.
- Effective — We will provide services based on scientific knowledge and refrain from providing unnecessary services.
- Patient-centered — We will provide care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs and values, ensuring that our patients’ values help guide our clinical decisions.
- Timely — We will reduce delays, for those who receive care as well as for those who provide care.
- Efficient — We will avoid waste, including equipment, supplies, ideas and energy.
- Equitable — We will provide care that is consistent in quality, regardless of personal characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, geographic location and socioeconomic status.
Look for more about our strategic plan in April, and learn more about our commitment to achieve excellence in patient care, education and discovery.