Dr. Richard Allen Harder

Prior to his graduate studies in dentistry, Dr. Harder earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California. After graduating from U.S.C. School of Dentistry, Dr. Harder continued his studies at U.S.C. in Safety and Systems Management. He is a 30-year member of the American Dental Association and the California Dental Association and has attained a fellowship status with the Academy of General Dentistry. He has established five dental group practices in Orange County and Seattle as well as a management consulting firm that has provided staff resources, quality assurance and management information systems support for multi-specialty, general dentistry group practices.
Having served on the Dental Advisory Council of Blue Cross of California and as a Local and State Dental Director for the Prudential Insurance Company, he joined CIGNA Dental Health, Inc. as Regional Dental Director where his role included the development of parameters for …quality of care assessment, peer review and utilization review. For four years, he was responsible for the quality assurance and integrity of provider networks in seven states in the western region (AZ, CA, CO, ID, OR, UT and WA).
Dr. Harder left CIGNA in order to participate with Western Dental, accepting a position as Dental Director, Quality Management. While at Western Dental Services, Inc., he served for two years on the Quality Assurance Subcommittee for the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC), previously a section of the Department of Corporations. He also served as a corporate liaison to the Department of Health Services (DHS) for the Sacramento-based Geographic Managed Care (GMC) project and addressed peer review issues involving the fee-for-service DentiCal program. During the same period of time, he was instrumental in the quality assurance program and utilization review process for the CIGNA Health Care and Universal Care contracts. These were the managed-care contracts for the capitated MediCal dental assistance program sponsored by DHS in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas.
After ten months with Western Dental, Dr. Harder was promoted to Vice President, Director of Professional Services to lead and reorganize Western Dental's rapidly expanding staff model operations throughout California which included nearly 400 dentists working in 70 staff model locations. He initiated a decentralized methodology to conduct peer review and quality assurance in each dental center location while enhancing productivity and cost management results. He implemented procedures and guidelines for reporting adverse peer review actions to the Dental Board of California (DBC). While serving Western, he helped to address several long-standing regulatory compliance issues with the DMHC, DHS/DentiCal and DBC while Western Dental was opening 20 additional new office locations.
Dr. Harder has extensive experience as a Dental Director in this region while working for Prudential DMO, CIGNA Dental Health and Western Dental Services for more than fifteen years. He prefers to serve in roles that will utilize his clinical, leadership and management experience to help assure excellence in the quality of dental health care delivery. He is currently a certified QA Consultant, California Association of Dental Plans.
Dr. Harder has focused his efforts on the sale of four of his five group dental practices and the support for clients of his consulting firm, Dental Practice Strategies. His consulting firm has served several dental practice clients in Southern California. His remaining, more current dental practice, Harder Dental Corporation, in Irvine has emphasized the use of the latest technologies and patient education, as well as care for patients isolated at home, in hospoitals or nursing facilities.
Since 1986, Dr. Harder has practiced in his offices located in Irvine, Harder Dental Corporation, which now includes two dentists, two hygienists and five support staff providing care. Dr. Harder has provided care in the community for patient