Dental care has long been treated as separate from the rest of healthcare, but oral health is deeply connected to overall health. So what happens when the information providers need stays separated, too?

In this episode of Kno2fy, Therasa Bell and Whitney Cole sit down with Laura Arias, Senior Manager of Innovation Programs and Services at CareQuest Innovation Partners, to explore the gap between dental and medical care and what it will take to bring oral health into the connected care ecosystem.

Laura and Therasa get into why dental has historically remained disconnected from broader health information infrastructure, what that separation can mean for patients and providers, and where technology can help close the gap. The conversation also explores the CareQuest and Kno2 partnership, the role of dental EDRs and PMSs, and how a scalable national infrastructure could make medical-dental exchange more accessible.

Most importantly, they look beyond simply connecting systems to ask what becomes possible when information can finally move with the patient.

Timestamps

00:37 – Meet Laura Arias & the CareQuest Innovation Partners

04:04 – Why Dental Care Became Disconnected From Healthcare

06:22 – What Dental Can Teach Us About Healthcare Connectivity

10:31 – What’s at Stake When Dental & Medical Data Don’t Connect

14:51 – Bringing Dentists Into the Broader Care Team

18:06 – Why Dental Data Still Isn’t Flowing

20:56 – How QHINs Can Connect Dental & Medical Care at Scale

25:22 – Inside the CareQuest + Kno2 Partnership

30:38 – The Role of Dental Software & What Success Looks Like

37:31 – Beyond Interoperability: What Could Connected Dental Care Unlock?

Hosted by: Therasa Bell and Whitney Cole

Produced by: Jess Garman

A Kno2 Podcast