Establishing a social need screening program requires buy-in from both leadership and staff. This resource shares examples of strategies gleaned from interviews with health centers.

When implementing a social need screening program, it can be challenging to identify how frequently to conduct the screening with patients. Health centers may have to explore various strategies to develop a workflow that prevents appointment backups and reduces the burden on staff. This resource shares examples of strategies gleaned from interviews with health centers.

Implementing a social need screening effectively is an iterative process. Many health centers find that their approach evolves as new concerns or considerations arise. The examples in this resource, gleaned from interviews with health centers, illustrate that unique context and needs drive what works.

This toolkit from Iowa is organized around the three stages of SDOH: Prepare, Test and Spread. The key concepts are organized under each of the stages. This toolkit provides existing and
new tools for each of the 21 concepts with guidance related to when an organization may want to use each tool or concept.

The Social Determinants of Health Data Dashboards training is a four-module series. Modules range from about 8 minutes to 12 minutes in length. Module four provides advanced-level information on using social determinants of health data and dashboards for facilitating and tracking social needs referrals, conducting predictive analysis with social determinants of health and health outcomes data, and using social determinants of health data to improve reimbursement for addressing social needs.

The Social Determinants of Health Data Dashboards training is a four module series. Modules range from about 8 minutes to 12 minutes in length. Module three provides intermediate level information on collecting social determinants of health data and using data visualization for effective dashboards with stratification of data.

The Social Determinants of Health Data Dashboards training is a four module series. Modules range from about 8 minutes to 12 minutes in length. Module two provides beginner level information on collecting social determinants of health data and basic analyses of the data.

The Social Determinants of Health Data Dashboards training is a four module series. Modules range from about 8 minutes to 12 minutes in length. Module one provides an introduction to the role of screening and collecting data on social determinants of health, identifying social determinants of health measures and using data effectively, and assessing organizational data dashboard capability. Subsequent modules provide beginner, intermediate and advanced level considerations and examples for social determinants of health data dashboards. 

How to Use This Checklist:
This is a supplement to our Module 2: The Managed Care Data Set, which uses the HCP-LAN APM Framework as its basis. Review both before using this checklist. There are terms used throughout that may be new to you or may benefit from detailed explanations—please visit our Value Based Payment Glossary for basic definitions for a host of key terms.

This checklist will walk you, the health center, through a series of common considerations for contracts you may receive from payers with a specific focus on contracts that include value-based payment components. This document assists organizations in understanding the necessary data and data-related tools for managing population health within a managed care environment. It is a primer on the types of best-practices that are necessary to maximize care delivery models that are responsive to value-based payment programs. Follow this checklist to further your understanding of these considerations and to help flag any outstanding issues for legal and/or consultant review prior to execution.

It is important to understand, contracts can be complicated and no one tool can effectively address all possible contract configurations and their potential issues. Use this as a guide with other resources, access outside expertise when needed, and apply your own knowledge and understanding of your business. It also never hurts to ask the health plan representatives if something is not clearly understood.

Now more than ever, health centers know that addressing social determinants of health is key to ensuring patients from underserved and disadvantaged groups receive quality, informed, and comprehensive care. This resource explores how health centers can effectively and safely collect critical patient information, including sensitive information like social need screening, through digital patient intake solutions that rely on paper-free, data-smart registration and EHR integration. Health centers can walk through why adding these solutions to their clinics can engage rather than alienate patients, and how to implement these technologies to screen for social risk and improve the patient experience.

The resource is available in the Documents to Download section below.