
Henderson, Nev.-based PDS Health has launched a business unit to integrate primary care with dentistry.
PDS Health Medical, led by President Joe Feldsien, combines medical and dental care at a single location to provide patients with whole body care, according to information shared with Becker’s. These offices feature shared reception, operations and referral pathways in addition to unified patient care teams.
The organization currently has 13 fully integrated practices in Arizona and Nevada. In addition to expanding in these two states, PDS also plans to add integrated offices in California and Colorado.
Mr. Feldsien recently spoke with Becker’s to discuss the new business unit.
Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What inspired the launch of PDS Health Medical?
Joe Feldsien: A couple of things come to mind. First, our founder and CEO, Stephen Thorne, has always been driven to excellence. Over the past 30+ years, our organization has seen how the dental profession has often been siloed from broader healthcare, both in practice and in how care is delivered. Dentistry has traditionally stood alone, and the integration between dental and medical care has been limited, with a few exceptions.
But what’s become increasingly clear is the connection between oral health and overall health, supported by an established body of research. Take periodontal disease, one of the most common chronic infections in the world. And we know that chronic infection leads to chronic inflammation, and inflammation can lead to serious health issues. That’s where education on the Mouth-Body Connection comes in. Our clinicians have been working on that for over a decade, and now we’re taking it even further in more tangible ways.
When we opened our first medical practice in Nevada, it confirmed what we already suspected. Patients benefit when medical and dental are working together. We saw early examples of preventing heart attacks, strokes and diabetes complications because of integrated care. That’s when Steve said, “We’re going to put dental and medical together, create a streamlined patient experience, and ensure that it’s truly integrated.”
A key piece of that was our switch to Epic as our EHR system in 2020. Around 70 percent of patients in the U.S. already have a record in Epic. By implementing it in our dental practices, we created the largest oral health Epic instance in the world. That gave us a platform to build from, extending into primary care under PDS Health Medical. Now, our medical and dental clinicians can access the same patient record and see the full picture of a patient’s health.
Q: How does this new business unit fit into the company’s overall goal of integrated care?
JF: PDS Health has more than 1,100 dental practices in 24 states, and every one of them has the potential to incorporate a PDS Health Medical nurse practitioner, MD, or DO. The idea is to provide same-day, same-office care that’s convenient for the patient and rooted in a shared culture.
Even though the medical and dental businesses are distinct, when you walk into one of these locations, it feels integrated. Same reception area. Shared culture and values. Collaboration between clinicians. And that collaboration is where the magic happens. Two clinicians working together, looking at the same data, in the same space. That’s how we help patients get the best care possible.
Another big advantage is the shared health record. When patients come into one of our dental-and-medical integrated practices, they have access to their full Epic chart through MyChart. They have access to a dashboard where they can see how their vitals and key biomarkers have changed over time. That kind of longitudinal data is incredibly powerful, especially for managing chronic conditions and preventing more serious issues down the road.