Army Dental Program Management Indices.

Abstract : A survey was conducted of patients presenting themselves for dental care at all dental treatment facilities at Fort Rucker, Alabama. The objective of the study was to provide Army Dental Service Commanders with additional patient management indices for assessing resource utilization. Health Care Studies Division personnel collected data for one month at five dental clinics at Fort Rucker. Approximately 3,700 patient visits comprised the study sample data base. Distributions were obtained of the various categories of the population receiving care and the levels of care provided to each category of patient. Four indices were developed and tested to illustrate their usefulness at installation level for managing program resources. Patient visits were equally divided between active duty and other than active duty personnel. The greatest proportion of visits, by level of care, was for primary care, followed by visits for preventive, corrective, and emergency care in that order. Percent distributions of patient visits by level of care and the rate of patient visits per 100 persons by level of care were presented.