How can we harness social determinants of health data?

“I've worked with hospitals and health systems on this issue for six years now, and this theme has remained consistent. It's an intimidating process for care teams. They may not always feel prepared to discuss these sensitive topics with patients...But that being said, what we are seeing is that when care teams are involved with creating the process...they're educated on what to do. If there is a positive screen, those clinicians are more than willing to take this on, and they want to be a part of using this data to improve outcomes for their patient...So, adding SDoH data to hospital claims by utilizing Z codes enables us to get a better understanding of the health-related social needs of patients and communities around the country. And when we know that we can perhaps tailor federal programs to meet those needs.”