While most are screening patients to address challenges tied to social needs, many hospitals' other efforts to address these issues and improve community health are inconsistent, according to a post from Deloitte's Life Sciences and Healthcare blog.
"Twenty years. That's how much longer someone who spends their life in an affluent neighborhood might live compared to someone who grows up in a poor section of the same city," Deloitte's Josh Lee wrote.
The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions surveyed executives from 300 hospitals and conducted phone interviews asking about the organization's daily activities in addressing social needs and their impact on patient outcomes.
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Among the findings, 88 percent of hospitals screen for social needs, especially with inpatient and high-utilizer populations, but fall short in targeting other community members who might be at risk. Care management efforts can help address issues once the patient leaves the hospital and goes home.
"Hospitals may, for example, ask patients about family support once they leave the hospital, or ask about barriers to getting healthy food, or transportation to medical appointments or to pick up prescriptions," Lee wrote.
ROI is also an issue, as organizations investing in improved community health want to see a financial return related to improved health outcomes, reduced costs, or both. Were ROI to be realized, about half of respondents said they'd increase their investments in social needs programs and activities. That ROI can't be tracked, though, unless hospitals identify and track "meaningful measures" related to social needs.
[Also: Study links social problems with healthcare costs]
Progress in developing and implementing valuable social needs programs varies across hospitals, but some examples highlighted by a recent research paper on the subject included medical-legal partnerships that assist patients in getting required medical documentation and protection letters from attorneys to prevent utility shut off and partnerships with community organizations like food banks that help patients resolve food insecurity food insecurity and get access to healthy meals, as well as education on healthy cooking, Lee said.
Finally, health systems that are already making the transition to value-based care are investing the most, were more likely to have an integrated mission that aligned with meeting health-related social needs and were tracking social needs and measuring more outcomes, Lee wrote.
"Many of our survey respondents recognize the potential impact the hospital can have in improving the health of their communities, but they acknowledge finances and staffing might limit their ability to address health issues tied to social determinants. After receiving care at a hospital, health problems could continue if the patient returns to the same environment."
Twitter: @BethJSanborn