Healthcare | SDOH
Social Determinants of Health: How to Improve Outcomes with SDOHPro
healthcare | sdoh | sdohpro | Social Determinants of Health | software
Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) are defined by the World Health Organization as “the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life.” These conditions are usually out of one’s control, and contribute to crucial health disparities and inequalities.
A study done by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in 2015 revealed that the Social Determinants of Health contributed to 84% of health outcomes, with actual medical factors only accounting for 16%. This, along with other research, reveals that SDOH not only relates to your health, but often determines your health, influencing your risk for certain conditions and the quality of care you are able to receive. This is why it is imperative to acknowledge, understand, and act upon the social determinants of health to improve population health.
This determinant of health care refers to relationships people have with their family, friends, co-workers, and community members that affect their overall well-being. The context of one’s social life and community is derived from various subjects like cultural norms, community cohesion, discrimination, civic participation, workplace conditions, interpersonal violence, incarceration, immigration status and more. This factor is more likely to contribute to mental health issues, for example, if one feels isolated and lonely within their community.
Education as a determinant of healthcare refers to the resources one has available to support individual learning needs. These resources include access to early childhood education and development, learning disability support, a high-quality K-12 education, graduation rates, higher education (college/trade school), and relationships with peers. Whether or not one has access to a good quality education can affect the way their brain works along with many other health factors.
This factor refers to people’s financial resources and how well their income can meet their own and family’s needs. Key contributors include cost of living, poverty rates, socioeconomic status, employment/job security, food security, and housing security. An individual’s income determines whether they have enough money to pay for healthcare, housing, utilities, bills, childcare, insurance, nutritious foods, and savings (retirement, college funds, etc). This is one of the most impactful determinants, because, for example, not having access to grocery stores with health foods directly impacts one’s nutrition. Having poor nutrition can lead to countless health issues and raise the risk for diabetes, heart conditions, obesity, and even low life expectancy.
This determinant looks at people’s understanding of and access to various services relating to their health, highlighting the impact on social care. Common issues include one’s access to medical care (ex. primary care doctor), health insurance coverage, language barriers, health literacy, medical records, telehealth, preventative screenings (ex. for STIs and cancer), treatments, and transportation to appointments. According to McKinsey, many providers are investing in SDOH programs that could subsidize ride shares to medical appointments in order to improve social services.
The social determinant of one’s neighborhood and built environment refers to the geographic location in which a person resides. Key factors of one’s housing, neighborhood and overall environment include the availability of healthy foods, water and air quality, community violence and crime, access to transportation, sidewalks/bike lanes, internet and childcare, and overall quality/affordability of housing. McKinsey also points towards investments in SDOH interventions such as meal deliveries, healthy food prescriptions, and affordable housing programs.
CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) released a new rule in 2024 that requires the screening and assessment of the five Social Determinants of Health discussed above for all patients admitted to hospitals.
CMS introduces two inpatient quality reporting measures to ensure unity and accountability. The first measure is screening for the five SDOH/measuring the number of patients who were screened. The second is identification/data mining of the patient who screened positive for any of the five determinants.
There are now large penalties that come with failure to comply with the CMS’ new rules. Non-compliance will result in a one-fourth reduction of the applicable percentage increase in hospitals’ APU for the relevant fiscal year. This also affects hospital reimbursement rates. There are new regulations coming for physician clinics as well.
Within the past decade, the Social Determinants of Health have become an emerging priority and strategic initiative for the medical industry. Healthcare organizations, now more than ever, recognize the need to address and act upon unmet social needs such as housing, transportation, and food. Nonprofits and healthcare organizations track the Social Determinants of Health in order to provide better aid to their patients.
There are a few common issues organizations run into when attempting to track SDOH. McKinsey mentions that stakeholders often have difficulties identifying the right Social Determinant of Health to prioritize, which results in low-quality care or unmeasurable impact. Growth Power Suite (GPS) provides SDOH software that allows you to track all of the five determinants simultaneously.
Another imperative, according to HealthTech, is knowing exactly where the inequity exists. “Organizations cannot address SDOH at an individual or population level without knowing where the inequity exists. This information often resides in several places: patient intake forms, clinical notes, discharge summaries and call center notes.” This is where GPS’s SDOH platform comes in: all of your medical information and records are stored in one place, under one unifying software. Learn all about SDOHPro below.
GPS provides a tracking platform called SDOHPro that helps reach your patients through communication and automation, while also tracking numbers and data for metrics. This makes it easy for your organization to measure its impact and improve outcomes.
SDOHPro complies with The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), which ensures the privacy and security of health information, including electronic records.
GPS’s software also utilizes multi-layer security, including 2-factor authentication, which guarantees the highest levels of security and confidentiality. You are also able to log and track users’ activity, meaning you have the ability to see when/how users login as well as any documents they view.
Our software saves your organization time and money, as there is no added human resource cost with SDOHPro. Hosted on an iPad, kiosk, or computer, patients are able to check-in virtually; there is also an option for them to scan a QR code for check-in on a mobile device. After checking in, constituents fill out a patient-driven survey, which identifies both their health and social needs. Using this data, hospitals are then able to collect, measure, analyze and report patient data. This leads to premier care: whether that be addressing immediate and urgent needs, or connecting patients to CBOs (Community Based Organizations) through effective pathways.
SDOHPro offers a dashboard that displays metrics in real-time to better understand patient needs and dynamics. Here, you are able to see the total number of in-patient admissions (including emergency room admissions) versus the total number of surveys completed. It displays charts according to patient needs, for example, those who need assistance and those who do not need assistance grouped by living situation, food situation, transportation situation, essential utilities, and household abuse.
You are readily able to view other analytics regarding specific patients. SDOHPro makes it easy to access patient information like whether they have been admitted and/or screened, as well as survey responses. You are also able to hone in on specific survey response categories, such as housing insecurity, food insecurity, transportation needs, utility difficulties, and interpersonal safety.
With SDOHPro, you are able to create an unlimited number of customizable, branded, private, and demographic-specific surveys to gain valuable insights into your patients’ needs. Your constituents complete these surveys in private, which promotes transparency and honest, accurate responses. The more they feel they can share, the more accurate help they will receive.
All of the surveys completed immediately become permanent record, which makes it easy to measure change as you can compare current patient responses to their past responses. Additionally, you are able to track patients who have been surveyed and ones that have been missed/still need to be surveyed, enhancing the overall pathway for patient care.
Our software, especially the surveys, create a large social return on investment due to the unlimited actions you can take based on patient responses. You are able to create customized response automations, those of which include notifying clinicians and CBOs. Therapies and services will be provided based on patient SDOH needs found through their survey responses, utilizing appropriate SDOH solutions.
We establish 2-way communication between responsible parties, whether it be through email, text, or voice calling. All communications are permanently recorded and monitored, making sure no patient is left behind and improving social outcomes.
Social Determinants of Health are quickly becoming the future of healthcare, as it is essential to understand the interdependence of both medical and non-medical needs. You can significantly improve your programs and make an impact on society by understanding the social needs of your patients. Schedule a demo with Growth Power Suite (GPS) today to try our SDOHPro software and elevate your organization!
