eHealth Initiative Foundation and LexisNexis Release Brief on The Importance of Social Determinants of Health Data

WASHINGTON  – March 27, 2019 – eHealth Initiative Foundation, in conjunction with the Health Care division of LexisNexis Risk Solutions, released The Importance of Social Determinants of Health Data (SDOH), a paper that examines different industry approaches to addressing SDOH. The report demonstrates how SDOH data is critical to reducing cost and improving the quality of care provided by today’s healthcare system.

“Experts have started to recognize that our environment—where we live, work and grow, greatly impact our quality of life and healthcare status,” says Jennifer Covich Bordenick, chief executive officer of eHealth Initiative Foundation. “In some cases, social indicators may be more predictive of patient outcomes than simply viewing clinical data gathered during a doctor’s office visit. We examined organizations that are using these indicators effectively.” The report closely examines:

• Health plans using SDOH to manage chronic conditions. For instance, in the treatment of diabetes, Geisinger’s Fresh Food “Farmacy” has had clinical impacts superior to those provided by medications (that cost billions of dollars to develop) at dramatically lower cost. Patients who meet the criteria for participation were referred to an enrollment class where they meet their care team and received a “prescription” for healthy, diabetes-appropriate food. Before the Farmacy these members costs Geisinger Health Plans an average of $8,000 to $12,000 per person, per month. The payer-side costs have dropped by two-thirds, on average, across the program.
   
• States using SDOH to tackle population health management. Various states are using SDOH to improve the health of their populations. Virginia’s Health Opportunity Index (HOI) consists of 13 indicators that were chosen following an extensive review of the literature on SDOH. Care Compass Network launched a Crisis Stabilization Project to provide resources to emergency departments and community behavioral health providers, as part of New York State’s Medicaid Section 1115 Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) Waiver.
   
• SDOH resources & toolkits for physicians and health systems. American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) — EveryONE Project Screening Tools, Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC) — Toolkit to Promote Multi-Sectoral Collaboration, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) — Accountable Health Communities’ (ACH) Health-Related Social Needs Screening Tool (HRSN), National Association of Community Health Centers — PREPARE Tool & Toolkit, National Quality Forum (NQF) — NQP Social Determinants of Health Data Integration, The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) Center for Population Health Strategies

Organizations developing standards for SDOH, including the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Committee on Recommended Social and Behavioral Domains and Measures for Electronic Health Records (EHR); the ONC Interoperability Standards Advisory (ISA); The National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) is developed a Measurement Framework for Community Health and Well Being; Social Interventions Research & Evaluation Network (SIREN); the CDC’s Social Determinants of Health Initiative; and Health Level Seven® (HL7) International’s Bidirectional Services eReferrals (BSeR).

“LexisNexis has extensively tested the validity of hundreds of data attributes created from various sources. Clinically validated socioeconomic attributes have been found to correlate to health outcomes including cost, hospitalizations, 30-day readmissions, emergency room visits, medication adherence, motivation and stress,” said Josh Schoeller, senior vice president and general manager, Health Care, LexisNexis Risk Solutions.

The brief is available for download in the eHealth Resource Center.

eHI Media Contact: Emma Valinski, eHealth Initiative, 202.464.208, emma@ehidc.org
LexisNexis Risk Solutions Media Contact: Yuliya Kutuzava, KNB Communications, + 1.203.504.8230 ext. 131, ykutuzava@knbcomm.com
 

About eHealth Initiative

eHealth Initiative and Foundation (eHI) convenes executives from every stakeholder group in healthcare to discuss, identify, and share best practices that transform the delivery of healthcare, through technology and innovation. eHI, and its coalition of members, focus on education, research, and advocacy to promote the use of sharing data to improve healthcare. Our vision is to harmonize new technology and care models in a way that improves population health, consumer experiences and lowers costs. www.ehidc.org.

About LexisNexis Risk Solutions

LexisNexis Risk Solutions harnesses the power of data and advanced analytics to provide insights that help businesses and governmental entities reduce risk and improve decisions to benefit people around the globe. We provide data and technology solutions for a wide range of industries including insurance, financial services, healthcare and government. Headquartered in metro Atlanta, Georgia, we have offices throughout the world and are part of RELX Group (LSE: REL/NYSE: RELX), a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. RELX is a FTSE 100 company and is based in London. For more information, please visit www.risk.lexisnexis.com and www.relx.com.