#HealthPolicyValentines: A love letter to SDOH Innovation ??

Originally Posted at Patchwise Labs

??

?Roses are red, and violets are blue;

The Social Determinants hype now seems true.

On this Ides of February, halfway through:

A half-full, whole-hearted love note to you.

????

“SDOH” — You maddening muse!

Common sense about health just won’t make the news.

Our safety net frayed,

A promise decayed;

Then you waltzed into my life, all toothpaste and shoes.

??????

A “wrong pocket problem,” you said from the start.

Innovation is science, but caring is art.

You caught my intrigue -

You’re in your own league.

Their interest may Waiver, but you had my heart.

????????

Some data, some demos, and some dollars later:

The rise of the vendor as “upstream innovator.”

New markets to pick:

SNAP, NEMT and WIC!

I screened and referred you and tuned out the haters.

??????????

In 2019, the upside looks fair:

New moves from each hospital, pharmacy, payer.

In my rose colored eyes,

You’ve got huge ROIs ;)

Let’s teach the market to measure and manage to care.

????????????

But the more hope I pile on, the more that I fear:

What if your luster fades away in a year?

The political gaming,

and blaming, and shaming -

Can framing your value make everything clear?

??????????????

So here I will leave it: If it turns out you’ve lied,

And paid for my love with a meal and a ride,

And the numbers don’t work, despite how we tried,

I still think you’re worth it; I won’t leave your side.

??????????????????????????????????????????

?Sign up for The Dispatch, our weekly newsletter with fresh insights + free research on social innovations in health. And occasional poems.