With managed dental care, everyone wins; joining a managed dental plan offers many advantages - includes tips on how to select a plan - Special Report - The Benefits of Managed Dental Care

Business & Health, Feb, 1994

Instead, he counsels, employers should focus on quality and dependability. The real hallmark of sophistication and diligence in a managed dental plan is the range of programs that are in place to evaluate employer and employee satisfaction. "Employers should look at things like how dentists are selected and periodically evaluated," he says.

Curtin and other consultants advise employers to consider a number of factors in choosing a vendor.

Among the most important:

The vendor

* How long has the vendor been in business?

* Does the vendor offer a variety of plans?

* Can each plan design be adapted to meet the specific needs of individual employers?

* What is the annual membership growth rate of the vendor's dental plans for the past several years?

* How much have premiums for the plans increased during the past several years?

* How many and what percentage of dentists have joined the network during the past several years?

* What percentage of dentists choose to leave the plans each year?

* What type of educational support and material does the plan give to new members?

* Will the vendor provide a number of references?

Quality assurance

* How are dentists selected?

* Does the vendor visit the dentists' offices before contracting with them?

* Are dentists periodically re-evaluated? If so, how? Does the vendor conduct peer review?

* What types of ongoing quality assurance programs are in place? How are results documented?

* How does each plan determine whether and when a dentist should be removed from the network? Under what circumstances has this been done?

* Does the vendor regularly solicit comments from patients and evaluate patient satisfaction?

* If an employee needs assistance for any reason, is there a toll-free number to call?

* Is there an appeal mechanism in cases of disputed services?

* How can an employee transfer to another dentist within the network?

Service/Access

* Does the plan have enough dentists to adequately serve all employees? How is this determined?

* What accommodations are made for employees who, for whatever reason, are unable to use network dentists?

* How long do employees typically have to wait for appointments?

* How are emergencies handled during times when a network dentist's office is closed?

* Is there a mechanism for obtaining a second opinion?