Education is a critical social determinant of health, largely because of its outsized impact on income and therefore other SDOH. There’s some clear-cut evidence underscoring the impact education has on overall health and well-being. In 2021, researchers published in PNAS that folks with higher educational attainment tend to live longer. Adults with a bachelor’s degree are expected…
Leaders at Atlantic Medical Group, a multispecialty physician network that is part of Atlantic Health System, in New Jersey, couldn’t figure out why the response rate for a patient-experience survey was so low among Spanish-speaking patients. The survey was in Spanish, but the response rate was just 8%, less than half the rate from the…
While the quality of U.S. healthcare and patient outcomes has generally increased over time, access to care — and thus to positive patient outcomes — is not equitable to all people. Overall, one in 10 Americans don’t have health insurance, which is fallout of a system breaking under the weight of high costs and deepening…
ood insecurity and low nutritional awareness contribute to multiple chronic health conditions in patients across the United States. Some diseases linked to food insecurity include hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, coronary heart failure, and kidney disease, just to name a few. Food insecurity is a persistent, growing issue, as many low-income urban and rural areas…
Pharmacy Times® interviewed Kamakshi Rao, PharmD, BCOP, FASHP, chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee at the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA) and director of the Academic Enterprises and Residency Programs at the University of North Carolina Medical Center in Chapel Hill, NC, and Eric Chow, PharmD, BCOP, MPH, vice chair of the DEI…
Health equity became an increasingly important topic this past year. There has been a significant increase in initiatives from legislators and policymakers, as well as increased funding toward historically underserved groups. We reported on Feb. 28 that “Washington has become the second state to begin to create Health Equity Zones to support communities in addressing…
The care coordination and care management platform of InfoMC helps care coordinators and care managers to not only engage patients in their care plans, but also connect them with ease to community-based and other resources to address SDoH needs. InfoMC’s cloud-based healthcare management software uses a person-centered, integrated approach that promotes high-quality, efficient and…
For years, providers have been talking about tackling health equity gaps in healthcare. But in 2023 new requirements from the federal government mean it is now time for some to walk the walk. “This has been twenty years in the talking stage,” said Paul Shields, M.D., CEO and chief medical officer of the Great Lakes…
The healthcare industry is in the middle of navigating two major trends: technology is moving into healthcare, and healthcare is moving into the home. As providers, payers, vendors, and industry newcomers scramble to figure out “who’s on first,” we all sense the possibility of this quantum leap moment for healthcare. Many of our collective conversations…
Social determinants of health reflect conditions in the environment where an individual is born, lives, works, plays and worships. These conditions have a direct impact on an individual’s range of health, functioning and quality of life. Given the recent pandemic, there has been an increase in the need to meet people where they are and…