Adding a Human Touch to Healthcare Data Through SDOH

Sometimes a disruptive event can underline the need for overdue change. As we’ve confronted the challenge of COVID-19 this past year, the experience has shed light on health inequities and disparities that continue to exist within the U.S. healthcare system.

?

Although the digitization of healthcare has resulted in an enormous trove of valuable medical data, claims systems, EMRs and other software still lack the personal details that heavily influence inequities in access to care, as well as individual or societal factors influencing care decisions. Vulnerable populations aren’t always easily understood when there isn’t much data known about them within the traditional health data ecosystem. Much of this inequity can potentially be characterized by social determinants of health (SDoH) data.

?

Earlier this month, I joined my colleague Tim Suther, Senior Vice President of Data Solutions at Change Healthcare, for a conversation on this topic at Becker’s Hospital Review’s 11th Annual Meeting. We discussed why it is critical to consider SDoH data across clinical and non-clinical areas when addressing health equity and how healthcare organizations can realistically begin to fill crucial data gaps that impact patient outcomes, as well as system and plan performance.

?

When employing an SDoH strategy, it’s critical for organizations to keep three key principles top of mind:

1. Start with the end in mind
2. Understand your focused use case
3. Reinforce your compliance procedures

Start with the end in mind

Developing any kind of healthcare data strategy is a complex undertaking that involves the coordination of many stakeholders and decision-makers. However, the successful SDoH initiatives that deliver a strong impact begin with a specific, goal-oriented strategy.

?

As organizations look at how to integrate SDoH data into their workflows, they should begin by looking at what they hope to achieve and hone in on the particular circumstances they are looking to affect to achieve that success.