High Point University is the First Academic Institution to Partner With Dental Support Organization as an Epic Community Connect Program

HPU’s Workman School of Dental Medicine Partners With Pacific Dental Services

High Point University (HPU) Workman School of Dental Medicine recently announced a partnership with Pacific Dental Services (PDS), one of the nation’s leading dental support organizations, to use Epic, the most widely used comprehensive electronic health records system in the United States. HPU will use Epic in the dental school and the dental practices affiliated with the school through the High Point University Health network.

“Pacific Dental Services’ Epic implementation into the HPU Health network of clinical practices allows us to leverage data to advance clinical decision making and outcomes research,” said Scott S. De Rossi, D.M.D., M.B.A., Founding Dean of HPU’s Workman School of Dental Medicine. “Having Epic through a Community Connect affiliation with PDS allows us to be at the forefront of integrating general and oral health. It will allow us to provide an elevated patient experience and improve health outcomes for those whom we serve, ensuring our students get the very best clinical education.”

HPU Dr. Scott De Rossi and Dr. Ali Shazib Collage_600 px w
From left to right: Scott De Rossi, D.M.D., M.B.A., is the Founding Dean for the HPU Workman School of Dental Medicine and Ali Shazib, D.M.D., B.D.S., is the Chief Clinical Officer of HPU Health network and Associate Professor in the Workman School of Dental Medicine.

This unique partnership, the first of its kind for a dental support organization (DSO) to partner with an academic institution, was made possible by Epic’s Community Connect program, which allows larger health care systems already employing Epic to extend its use to others that would not otherwise be in a position to utilize the platform.

“Being on an integrated electronic health record such as Epic immerses the dental student to the same environment as any other health care profession,” said Dr. Ali Shazib, D.M.D., B.D.S., Chief Clinical Officer of HPU Health network and Associate Professor in the Workman School of Dental Medicine. “Epic exposes learners to the real-world element of interprofessional education and practice, team-based learning, transition of care and the complex moving pieces involved in clinical decision making.”

High Point University’s Doctor of Dental Medicine degree program will enroll its inaugural class in the fall of 2024 and the Workman School of Dental Medicine will be North Carolina’s only dental school that is part of a private university. Starting their first semester, students will spend a significant amount of time rotating through HPU Health network practices to provide and observe patient care and learn dental auxiliary roles and functions.

Using Epic will give dental students the real-world experience and exposure to the dynamic health care environment, preparing students for the career they choose to pursue in oral health care.

Part of that experiential learning will be using state-of-the-art technology, including Epic, to manage patients’ oral health and medical needs. The HPU Health network will be fully interoperable with health care systems using Epic (and able to exchange records with any health system that uses modern standards), allowing for team-based and integrated care for patients. In addition, dental students will have the ability to refer undiagnosed medical conditions to health care providers as well as manage the oral health needs of patients who are referred to them by their medical colleagues. This form of integrated care is the future of health care, underscoring the importance of oral health to overall health, and will allow HPU graduates to thrive in a team-based environment.  

As part of the agreement, PDS will roll out Epic at HPU, provide the onboarding and training for the platform, and maintain ongoing support services. HPU will then use Epic to give its dental students real-world exposure to the future of dental-medical integration through the technology, while providing integrated dental and medical care to its patients.

“We are honored for the opportunity to work with the High Point University Workman School of Dental Medicine to enhance dental and medical data integration and enable the future of oral health care,” said Stephen E. Thorne IV, Founder and CEO of Pacific Dental Services. “We know the impact dental professionals can have on patients’ overall health and in the overall health care system. We are taking steps to lead the industry and elevate dentists from being primarily focused on fixing dentition to embracing their full potential and becoming a vital part of every patient's primary health care team.” 

Contact: Allison Leasure, Media Relations Manager at High Point University, by phone at 336-841-9811 or email at aleasure@highpoint.edu.

Courtesy of High Point University and Pacific Dental Services

Published on April 12, 2023