It took three years of preparation, but Longhorn Dental became the 11th group dental practice in the United States to do so. Of the 11 accredited groups, seven are affiliated with the Massachusetts company. We wanted to set ourselves apart from other groups. The nonprofit Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care has accredited more than 1,200 organizations nationally since 1979, ranging from ambulatory health care clinics and surgery centers to managed care organizations. Developing effective records was the most time-consuming task.
Patient records are critical in a practice.
We were able to streamline what we were doing. Dr. Jesley Ruff, vice president and chief professional officer of publicly held American Dental Partners, works with the company's affiliates on accreditation. Although American Dental Partners helped with the accreditation, the decision to pursue it rested with the dental group, as do all decisions regarding patient care. The primary responsibility in a practice is to provide the best treatment for the patient, not what is best economically. I do not see this as the wave of the future, although those who are doing this would disagree with me.