Doctors and nurses routinely encounter patients struggling with food insecurity, housing instability and other non-medical needs that contribute to poor health. Without a system in place, they have no reliable way to connect the patient to social help outside the hospital. When a need arises, the market is often quick to step in with a solution — in this case, coordinated care networks that provide a direct connection between healthcare providers, patients and social services.
Tools that connect healthcare providers, patients and community-based organizations are growing. Healthcare providers use these systems to connect with social services, which in turn connect with the patient. These platforms help facilitate access to social services by providing healthcare providers with a tool to contact social services, which, in turn, reach out to the patient. The goal is to reduce healthcare demand by addressing the underlying causes of poor health.
They also generate data that helps identify patients at risk for health or social crises. Integrating social services into the health system has the potential to increase the quality of life and overall health of Americans, often through less costly preventive interventions.
Justin Leventhal is a senior policy analyst for the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit education and research organization. For more information about the Institute, visit www.TheAmericanConsumer.Org or follow us on X @ConsumerPal.