Sunday, December 8, 2024
12/8/2024
The Rutgers School of Dental Medicine in Newark along with its affiliated clinics in Somerdale, Galloway and Northdale is the most comprehensive provider of oral health care for HIV+ individuals in the State of New Jersey. The most recently published data from the New Jersey State Department of Health indicates that as of June 30, 2021 there are currently 38,808 persons living with HIV/AIDS in the State of New Jersey. Access to oral health care is consistently ranked one of the top unmet health needs for this population. The mission of the RSDM clinics is to provide emergent, urgent, and complete oral health care for HIV+ individuals in a tertiary care, outpatient facility. The Rutgers School of Dental Medicine has a long history of providing direct patient care to HIV infected individuals throughout its facilities as well as educating undergraduate and postgraduate students in the care and treatment of medically complex patients, including those with HIV infection. Like so many others, RSDM grapples first-hand with the enormous challenges that the HIV/AIDS epidemic poses for communities most affected by this disease, the health care professionals who serve these communities, and the people living with HIV/AIDS who experience HIV-related oral disorders. Working together through the power of partnerships the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine and Extramural Clinics have effectively utilized the fiscal and administrative resources and enhanced the efficiency of the partnership operation to improve access to oral health care for the intended HIV-positive population. All data for the Newark treatment facility is derived from actual patient visits, which are recorded, and tracked monthly using several different software programs that are designed to track HIV+ patients. First, the School of Dental Medicine uses AXIUM which is an automated management system as well as an Electronic Health record which is used for tracking patients. Second, is the Champ system which is used to collect HIV data for the Newark Eligible Metropolitan Area and third is CAREWare version 6.0 which is a Ryan White free, software application for managing and monitoring HIV clinical and supportive care provided by the State of New Jersey. The applicant uses institutional fees for procedures, which are lower than the normally accepted fees for the geographic areas before any discount or sliding fee schedules are applied. Printouts from the computer-based patient information systems were utilized to determine the amount of all unreimbursed costs and the number of HIV-infected patients. The total unreimbursed costs for patients treated in the Galloway/Somerdale/Northfield and Newark treatment facilities were $549,027.98-$233,521012 = $315,506.86.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
