Research has consistently shown that social factors are intricately linked to health outcomes, which has increased awareness in the healthcare space. But in many cases, understanding a patient’s social risks doesn’t lead to overcoming them.
According to Caroline Fichtenberg, social epidemiologist and health services researcher, co-director of the Social Interventions Research and Evaluation Network (SIREN), and researcher in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Emilia H. De Marchis, family physician, implementation science researcher, affiliate faculty of SIREN, and assistant professor of family and community medicine at UCSF, it’s not enough to simply ask about social risks.
Research has shown that 67% of medical practices and 92% of hospitals are already asking some patients about one or more of the five core social risks. And a new Medicare ruling will require special needs plans to include questions about social risks in annual member health risk assessments beginning in 2023. But collecting data hasn’t resulted in a high number of patients accepting assistance or overcoming those social factors. Ficthenberg and De Marchis believe poor screening tools and a lack of confidence in the help (or source), among other factors, are to blame.
A patient who says they are facing social risks isn’t necessarily open to help or the collection method of their responses. They may also not feel comfortable or confident with the person asking the question and their ability to help. To overcome this, care providers can position the questions in the healthcare context and provide a more personalized approach to assistance resources. Consistency also helps a patient understand it’s not a superficial survey but an integrated and customized way to support a positive healthcare outcome.
At HEAPS we designed our platform to source, analyze, and summarize complex data into actionable insights. That data integrates personalized social determinants that impact health, adherence, and success rates, which allows care providers and payers to have a personalized conversation with each individual. This custom approach instills patient confidence in the ability to overcome barriers and improve health outcomes.
Click here to learn more about the HEAPS platform or schedule a demo. Click here to read the article by Fictenberg and De Marchis, Why do people turn down social risk assistance offered by their doctors’ offices?
