Quick response codes for management of systemic diseases in dental clinics

About one-third of patients referred to dental clinics have systemic diseases. Dentists should be aware of how to manage systemic diseases in such patients, enabling them to provide safe dental treatments. Consequently, they require access to a reliable and up-to-date source of information based on the latest guidelines. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of Quick Response (QR) codes as a new method for learning and reminding in systemic disease management in general dentistry clinics, and to assess the level of satisfaction with using QR codes. This quasi-experimental study was conducted to evaluate an educational intervention for general dentists, utilizing a pre- and post-test design. The study was designed in four consecutive steps: QR code preparation, pilot study performance, QR code implementation, and evaluation of its efficacy. Ten QR codes were developed, each linked to educational content about the management of patients with a specific systemic disease. These QR codes were displayed on a poster attached to the dental clinics’ walls. After 3 months of QR code usage by dentists, the following variables were assessed using questionnaires: (1) the effectiveness of QR code implementation on participants’ basic knowledge about systemic disease management before and after using QR codes, and (2) the degree of dentists’ satisfaction with QR code usage. Forty general dentists participated in the study. The average knowledge score before and after the survey was 8.52 ± 3.05 and 11.17 ± 2.64, respectively, indicating a statistically significant increase (P value < 0.01). A significant relationship was observed between the number of QR code uses and post-test scores (p-value = 0.001). However, there was no significant relationship between the number of exposures to patients with systemic diseases and either the pre-test (p-value = 0.14) or post-test (p-value = 0.05). Based on the satisfaction questionnaire, 77.5% of participants reported that they had improved skills when facing patients with systemic diseases after using QR codes for three months. Also, 75% declared that their access to essential information was facilitated. The need for medical referral decreased in 50% of the participants. QR codes may be effective in teaching or reminding dentists to manage patients with systemic diseases correctly. Patient referrals may also decrease. Furthermore, based on dentists’ self-assessment, their access to essential information, satisfaction, and perception may improve.