Pharma and Payers Tackle COVID-19 with Increased Investment in Social Determinants
Revealed in New eHealth Initiative Report
Washington, DC – August 7, 2020 – Today, eHealth Initiative Foundation (eHI) released Insights from Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Payers: Addressing Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) and Advancing Health Equity. The paper shares examples of collaborative initiatives currently deployed by pharmaceutical manufacturers and payers to address SDOH during COVID-19.
“The pandemic has revealed dramatic disparities in testing, care, treatment and health outcomes across minority populations” said Jen Covich Bordenick, Chief Executive Officer of eHI. “It was encouraging to learn about the different partnerships that pharmaceutical manufacturers and payers are leveraging to tackle the issues.”
The report outlines several key findings, which were developed after convening pharmaceutical manufacturers, health plans, community based SDOH programs, patient advocacy organizations, and other experts. Merck and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. participated and provided financial support for development of the report. Findings addressed in the report include:
• Using COVID-19 as a catalyst for change
• The role of data in advancing health equity
• A shared SDOH framework
• Tools for putting SDOH into action
• Using data to understand health while addressing social risk
• Appropriate use of SDOH
• SDOH and health literacy
• Positive benefits of SDOH
In 2019, eHI released Ethical Principles for the Appropriate Use of Social Determinants of Health. The nonprofit leads several educational initiatives aimed at identifying best practices across the nation. Additional resources around addressing SDOH during COVID-19 are available in the eHealth Initiative’s Resource Center.
The full report can be downloaded here.
For more information, please contact:
Amy Eckenroth
202-624-3270
amy@ehidc.org