The new partnership will advance critical medical–dental integration to improve patient outcomes across healthcare system
BOSTON, MA— March 24, 2026 — CareQuest Innovation Partners, a company that funds, scales, and convenes transformative solutions to improve overall health through oral health, and Kno2, the nation’s leading full-stack healthcare communication infrastructure and a federally designated Qualified Health Information Network (QHIN), today announced a strategic partnership to integrate dental care into the nation’s core health information exchange infrastructure.
For most patients, a visit to the dentist feels routine, but the information leading up to that visit may not be. Patients on blood thinners may face elevated bleeding risk. A patient recovering from cancer treatment may have immune complications that impact oral health outcomes. A patient with uncontrolled diabetes may struggle to manage periodontal disease. When that information does not follow them into the dental chair, providers are forced to make decisions without the full clinical story. That gap can translate into complications, emergency visits, or missed warning signs of systemic disease—particularly for seniors, medical complex, and underserved populations.
Despite growing recognition of the connection between oral and systemic health, dental care remains largely disconnected from national interoperability frameworks. According to research conducted by CareQuest Institute for Oral Health—the nonprofit affiliate of CareQuest Innovation Partners— medical providers are nearly twice as likely as dental providers to identify medications prescribed by other organizations using their EHR systems. This gap limits care coordination slows medical-dental integration (MDI) and disproportionately impacts the very patients most likely to experience fragmented care.
Through this partnership, CareQuest Innovation Partners serves as a national catalyst for integrating dental into the broader healthcare system by providing critical capital, connections, and advisory expertise scaling health innovations. Leveraging Kno2’s nationwide network and significant experience in connecting historically overlooked markets such as post-acute, vision, behavioral health, and more, the initiative will create a scalable pathway for dental organizations to participate in secure, bidirectional data exchange alongside medical providers, payers, and health systems. This includes medical to dental and dental to medical referrals, clinical information at the point of care and availability of dental records for the consumer.
When clinical information can move seamlessly between a physician’s office and a dental practice, providers gain a more complete understanding of the patient in front of them. That visibility supports improved safety and quality, reduces administrative waste, encourages medical-dental innovation, and strengthens health equity.
“For years, the industry has talked about connecting oral and overall health, but the infrastructure hasn’t existed. As a result, dental has remained largely disconnected from health information exchange networks that power coordinated care,” said Katie D’Amico, Vice President of Growth & Innovation at CareQuest Innovation Partners. “Together with Kno2 and partners across EDRs and care delivery, we are embedding medical–dental communication into clinical workflows and connecting providers to national health information exchange infrastructure, setting the foundation for scalable, integrated care and innovation. At a time when the need is clear and market momentum is building, we are not just talking about interoperability, we are helping make it happen.”
Two leading electronic dental record (EDR) platforms, serving approximately 20 percent of the dental market, have committed as flagship partners in the initiative. Together, the organizations aim to accelerate integration timelines to production go-live within six months and achieve adoption among 25 percent of participating EDR provider users in the first year. Other organizations across the healthcare ecosystem are invited to join in accelerating the critical connectivity needed to unlock integrated, whole-person care at scale.
Long-term, the goal is to:
- Integrate dental fully into national health information exchange infrastructure
- Enable connectivity for dentists nationwide
- Expand secure information exchange to the millions of patients they serve
- Establish scalable, permanent participation for oral health within the broader healthcare ecosystem
“When providers lack access to critical health information, patients feel the impact. As federal interoperability compliance requirements intensify, healthcare costs continue to escalate, and policymakers increase scrutiny on system waste and accountability, the time to bring dental fully into the connected ecosystem of healthcare is now,” said Therasa Bell, Founder and President of Kno2. “By aligning with CareQuest Innovation Partners, we are creating an affordable, direct and scalable pathway for dental to participate fully in the same connected ecosystem as the rest of healthcare.”
Together, CareQuest Innovation Partners and Kno2 are building the infrastructure to ensure dental is no longer on the sidelines of interoperability but fully participating in the connected future of healthcare.
About Kno2
Kno2 is leading the future of healthcare communication by providing the nation’s largest comprehensive full-stack communication network including as a federally designated Qualified Health Information Network (QHIN) and pledged to the CMS Aligned Networks. Kno2 enables secure, effortless exchange of patient information across providers, payers, patients, and technology vendors, processing billions of transactions annually. To learn more, visit kno2.com.
About CareQuest Innovation Partners
CareQuest Innovation Partners® funds, scales, and convenes transformative solutions to improve overall health through oral health. Together, with our ecosystem of leading industry partners, startups, and investors, we make health care more accessible, equitable, and integrated. CareQuest Innovation Partners is the for-profit subsidiary of CareQuest Institute, and they are joined by the shared mission to improve the oral health of all. To learn more, visit carequestinnovation.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
