Meet Dr. Christine, Riedy, Principal Investigator for CIPCOH

February 10, 2020
Dr. Christine Riedy, PhD, MPH
Christine Riedy, PhD, MPH, has played an instrumental role in Harvard School of Dental Medicine’s efforts to be a champion of the integration of oral health and primary care. Riedy arrived at HSDM in 2013 and serves as the Delta Dental of Massachusetts Associate Professor in Oral Public Health and Epidemiology, as well as the department chair for Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology. On top of those distinctions, Riedy is a member of the Initiative to Integrate Oral Health and Medicine and the principal investigator for the Center for Integration of Primary Care and Oral Health (CIPCOH). CIPCOH was established in July 2016 through a cooperative agreement with the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration as one of six national centers supported by the Academic Units for Primary Care Training Enhancement (AU-PCTE) program. Riedy is also the principal investigator for the National Center for Equitable Care for Elders.

Riedy, a native of Pennsylvania, received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Susquehanna University before pursuing a master’s degree and PhD in Psychology, followed by a master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Washington in Seattle. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship as a National Research Service Award trainee in behavioral/dental disease prevention, she was also a research assistant professor and a research associate professor in dental public health sciences. Riedy also held adjunct appointments in pediatric dentistry in the School of Dentistry and Health Services and School of Public Health at the University of Washington.

Her diverse educational background and experience has made her an invaluable asset to both the Initiative and CIPCOH. Here, she discusses what each of these has meant to integration, what excites her most about the future of integration, and why it is vital to continue this important work.

Why is the integration of oral health and medicine important in the changing landscape of healthcare?Dr. Christine Riedy speaks at inaugural IPE to IPP Summit
Integrating oral health into medicine is one of the several forces that has prompted a national discussion on multidisciplinary and interprofessional training and practice. Through integration, we can break down the silos and barriers that have held us back in thinking creatively about healthcare solutions. Acknowledging the role and value of all disciplines working together is vital in ensuring that individuals can receive person-centered and comprehensive care.

How important are organizations like the Initiative to Integrate Oral Health and Medicine and CIPCOH in advancing the national conversation regarding oral healthcare?
The work of the Initiative and CIPCOH provides the evidence base, the systems-level research, and the evaluative tools for training programs that are necessary to illustrate the importance and impact of oral health in overall health.  

What projects or research opportunities are you currently most excited about?
CIPCOH’s work to develop tools for evaluating oral health integration into primary care training curricula, transforming oral health competencies into entrustable professional activities, and understanding the organizational changes required for sustainable integration are necessary to support programs interested in improving their curricula or developing a new integrative curriculum. 

Dr. Christine Riedy presents an award to an HSDM studentWhat is the most rewarding part of being a leader in the efforts to integrate oral health and primary care?
The most rewarding part is not only examining and highlighting the tremendous efforts that our group and many, many others have done to promote oral health in primary care training, but also turning the mirror toward ourselves to examine how we and our dental colleagues integrate chronic medical conditions, behavioral health, and social determinants of health into our dental training. 

Having been involved in the Initiative to Integrate Oral Health and Medicine and CIPCOH since the beginning, what accomplishments are you most proud of?
One of the most important accomplishments to date is our ability to bring together an array of individuals from different disciplines and organizations in pursuit of our goal to better understand the landscape of oral health integration in primary care training.  While each individual involved has excelled in their field of practice/study, the sharing of knowledge and experience in our collective meetings has been important in moving our research forward and highlighting the impressive work that all of our primary care colleagues have done. 

Where do you hope to see oral health and medicine ten years from now?
I hope that we continue to support educational programs that emphasize interprofessional education where oral health, along with behavioral health, etc., are seamless partners in primary care training. I hope to see more medical schools and residency programs provide training on oral health assessments and more opportunities to build connections with dental colleagues. Conversely, I hope to see dental schools and dental residency programs provide training on behavioral health assessments and opportunities to collaborate with behavioral health colleagues. Ideally, you will see more interprofessional clinical practice where students and residents can see integrative and interprofessional healthcare in actual practice.