Interprofessional Collaboration in the Assessment and Management of Substance Use Risk

Area of Science:

• Oral health
• Addiction medicine
• Healthcare collaboration

Background:

• Substance use disorder (SUD) assessment is becoming more common in dental practices.
• Effective SUD evaluation necessitates interprofessional collaboration with other healthcare providers.
• Dentistry faces unique barriers to integrated care, such as limited electronic record sharing and isolated practice settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the importance of interprofessional collaboration in dental SUD assessment.
• To identify barriers to communication and care coordination in dentistry.
• To propose strategies for overcoming these barriers to improve patient outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Review of current practices in dental SUD assessment.
• Analysis of barriers to interprofessional communication in dental settings.
• Discussion of potential solutions for enhanced care coordination.

Main Results:

• Collaboration with cotreating providers is essential for adequate SUD evaluation.
• Electronic health record limitations and practice isolation impede dental care integration.
• Dentist-facilitated communication can surmount existing barriers.

Conclusions:

• Integrating SUD assessment into dentistry requires proactive communication strategies.
• Addressing practice-specific barriers is crucial for effective patient management.
• Enhanced collaboration improves the quality of care for patients with substance use disorders.