Medical / Dental Integration - Current Programs and Impact on Claims and Overall Health
Wednesday, September 30
3:45 PM - 4:45 PM (ET)
As evidence continues to grow linking oral health to overall health outcomes, healthcare organizations are increasingly exploring ways to better connect medical and dental care. This session will examine the latest research supporting medical-dental integration and the growing momentum across the healthcare industry to create more coordinated approaches to patient care. Speakers will discuss current integration programs, emerging models of collaboration, and the operational and clinical factors driving greater alignment between medical and dental benefits. The session will also explore how integrated data and claims insights can help identify opportunities to improve health outcomes, enhance care coordination, and better manage costs. Attendees will gain practical insights into when integration moves beyond theory and leads to measurable action, as well as observations from organizations implementing integrated approaches to improve member experience, population health, and overall value across the healthcare system.
Meredith Goodwin, PhD
Senior Healthcare Data Analyst
FAIR Health
Meredith A. Goodwin, PhD, is a Principal Research Data Scientist at FAIR Health, where she leads analytic work using large-scale medical and dental claims data to inform healthcare policy, cost measurement, and improve transparency in medical care costs.
Dr. Goodwin works with academic, governmental, advocacy, and policy-oriented stakeholders to design and implement studies using FAIR Health’s National Private Insurance Claims (NPIC) database. Her work focuses on translating complex data into actionable insights, including recent preliminary studies examining patient outcomes and healthcare costs associated with preventive dental care.
She holds a PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Case Western Reserve University and previously held research and teaching roles there, contributing to community-based and translational research focused on health disparities, maternal health, and social determinants of health.
Roy Gilbert
President
PDS Health Plans
Roy Gilbert serves as President of PDS Health Plans, advancing PDS Health’s vision to connect dental and medical care so patients get earlier diagnoses, coordinated treatment, and better outcomes. He leads plan design and partnerships that operationalize the Mouth-Body Connection across settings, aligning benefits and care pathways around whole-person health. He brings more than two decades of leadership experience across healthcare, technology, and global operations. Before joining PDS, Roy served as Chief Operating Officer at Delta Dental, overseeing operations for 39 million members and driving major improvements in automation, service delivery, and customer experience. He later became CEO of OrthoFX, an orthodontic technology company known for its pioneering nighttime aligner system, where he led a successful operational and financial turnaround. Earlier in his career, Roy spent eight years at Google, where he built and led international operations across ten countries, including the launch of Google’s first centers in India. A former U.S. Navy submarine officer, he brings a disciplined, mission-driven approach to leadership combined with an entrepreneurial mindset and deep respect for teamwork. Roy holds an MBA from Stanford University and a B.S. in Computer Science from the U.S. Naval Academy.
Dr. Daniel Pihlstrom
Chief Dental Officer
Permanente Dental Group (PDG)
Daniel Pihlstrom, DDS, is chief dental officer of Permanente Dental Group (PDG). In this role, Dr. Pihlstrom oversees the quality agenda of the Kaiser Permanente Dental program, helping to ensure the organization’s 290,000 members receive patient-centered, integrated, value-based care. During his career at PDG, Dr. Pihlstrom developed the Kaiser Permanente Medical-Dental Integration (MDI) program - incorporating licensed practical nurses, dentist-administered vaccinations, and medical care coordination into daily practice. Dr. Pihlstrom is an Affiliate Investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research and has contributed to numerous scientific publications, including the 2021 Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health in America.
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