Department of Health Policy and Management, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Am J Public Health. 2011 Oct;101(10):1841-4. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300358. Epub 2011 Aug 18.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has grand ambitions: to provide insurance coverage to more than 30 million currently uninsured Americans, to slow increases in health care costs, to reorganize the health care delivery system, and to improve the quality of care provided to all. Where does the oral health community fit in this initiative? Should dentists "scope up" to become a more active part of the primary care workforce? Or should dentists "scope down" and delegate parts of the traditional dental tool kit to midlevel practitioners? Our nation's public health largely depends on whether we can create a more integrated and public health-oriented delivery system. The oral health, physical health, and public health communities should address this challenge together.
《患者保护与平价医疗法案》（Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act）立意高远：为 3000 多万目前尚未参保的美国人提供医疗保险，减缓医疗成本的增长，重组医疗服务体系，并提高全体民众的医疗服务质量。在这一计划中，口腔健康领域的角色是什么？牙医应该扩大业务范围，成为初级保健队伍中更活跃的一员吗？还是牙医应该缩小业务范围，将传统牙科工具包的一部分交给中级执业医师？我们国家的公共卫生在很大程度上取决于我们能否创建一个更加一体化和以公共卫生为导向的医疗服务体系。口腔健康、身体健康和公共卫生领域应该共同应对这一挑战。
