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Situational Analysis

Strengths:

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-Accessible care for patients with no/limited insurance: By providing free services, the program eliminates a financial barrier, making it accessible to underserved communities.

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-Free services make dental care affordable: The free diagnostic services encourage patients who might otherwise avoid seeking dental care due to financial restraints.

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-Supports students’ practical experience: Benefits dental students by providing hands-on experience. Students engage with real patients and gain valuable skills.

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-Convenient weekend availability: This program’s Saturday schedule benefits patients with busy weekday commitments.

Weaknesses:

 

-Limited to Saturday services, which may restrict availability: Saturdays are beneficial to some, but restricts patients who have issues during weekdays.

 

-Possibility of limited resources like equipment and staff: May be issues with availability of high-end dental equipment or full staff, impacting speed/quality of service.

 

-Financial sustainability might depend on external funding: If financial strain occurs any university grants/budgets could reduce affecting the program.

 

-Capacity might not meet high demand: Due to program being free, IUSD capacity could be exceeded, leading to long waits or crowded appointments.

Opportunities:

 

-Increase partnerships with local health organizations: Could form partnerships with community health offices resulting in additional resources or funding.

 

-Expand services to other underserved communities: Explore possibility of expanding to other communities or offering additional days.

 

-Raise awareness about the importance of oral health: Run educational campaigns highlighting the connection between oral health and overall health.

 

-Leverage student involvement for outreach engagement: increase community involvement by dental students organizing health fairs or volunteering in schools/nursing homes.

Threats:

 

-Competition from other low-cost clinics in the area: If other low-cost providers offer more services/extended hours, program may struggle to retain or grow patient base.

 

-Economic downturns affecting university funding: Economic challenges lead to reduced funding from university, limiting resources to dental program.

 

-Changes in healthcare regulations that might limit funding: If regulations governing healthcare change, financial support the program receives affected. Hard to offer free services reducing the operation.

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-Limited awareness and outreach efforts: If program doesn’t promote its services, patients won’t know about it reducing patient volume.

Competitive Analysis

Competitor: HealthNet People’s Health and Dental Center

 

HealthNet offers multiple dental services for both adults and children, covering everything from cleanings and fillings to crowns, extractions, and dentures. Because of their wide range of services, this makes them a one stop shop for dental care, accommodating various patients’ needs. There are six HealthNet dental centers across Indianapolis that are accessible to a large portion of the community, providing convenience for the patients. HealthNet also provides same day appointments, which are beneficial for patients experiencing dental emergencies. Due to HealthNet being an overall large community health network the clinics may have high patient volumes, which leads to longer wait times or difficulty in obtaining an appointment in non-emergency situations. HealthNet does not operate on weekends, so this could be a disadvantage for those able to take time off work during the week.

                           Services Offered

Dental services for patients of all ages-from toddlers to adults. Some adult services include x-rays, cleanings, check-ups, fillings, extractions, crowns, dentures, and partials. Children services include cleanings, sealants, fluoride, fillings, orthodontic referrals, and same day emergency appointments. There is also a greater chance of higher costs for services compared to the free services at IUSD.

Family

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTOR

Whether or not the local economy is thriving or doing poorly can have a large impact on the amount money patients are willing to or able to spend on healthcare, especially elective healthcare such as dental services. When the economy is doing well, people have a more expendable income, which allows them to obtain elective services such as cleanings, fillings, and cosmetic procedures and more. However, the opposite is true when the economy is not doing well. People spend their money on essential needs such as housing, food, electricity, water, and fuel to get to work.  Since the Dental Screening Program at IUSD is free, it will likely have a positive impact during economical crisis when people are more likely to seek low-cost or free healthcare options. It provides an invaluable option for those who cannot afford dental care. When this economic hardship is in place it increases the amount of people who are looking for and using the screening clinic. This affords people a way to stay on top of their health without financial restraints. The big challenge for the screening clinic during an economic crisis is ensuring the program remains adequately funded and resourced.

SOCIAL FORCE

Thankfully society is starting to take an interest in preventive healthcare, which aligns perfectly with the Free Dental Screening Program’s mission of early detection and prevention of dental issues. By providing diagnostic services like dental exams and radiographs, which are intended to catch dental issues before they begin or develop into more serious conditions. By catching them early and educating patients about the connection between oral health and overall health can drive more patients to seek services, especially since this program addresses cost and time barriers. This also can help increase patient population in primary care offices if a patient may have a systemic issue going on. Many signs of systemic conditions are first seen in the oral cavity. For example, HIV can first be detected in the oral cavity before the patient even has symptoms. So, there is a potential for this free dental screening to potentially save someone’s life.  As people become more aware of the importance of prevention in healthcare, this program has the opportunity play a crucial role in promoting oral health as a vital component of overall well-being. At the free clinic gains patients and educates them on how dental health is closely linked to conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, other chronic illnesses will reinforce the importance of regular check-ups at the dentist and like mentioned above even primary care. Even check-ups for those who may not be experiencing any pain or dental problems. By focusing on prevention, the program can attract individuals who may not have sought dental care otherwise.

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