Driving the Drivers
How hospitals and health systems can leverage technology and workflow optimization to address health-related social needs.
Addressing a patient’s social care needs can be a challenging journey for hospitals and health systems. It begins with screening a patient for health-related social needs (HRSN) and, ideally, ends with the patient being connected to the resources they need to experience better health outcomes.
How can hospitals and health systems reduce those gaps in the HRSN journey for themselves, their clinicians, their staff and, most importantly, their patients and communities? Technology-driven automation is the answer.
Screening patients for HRSN needs and using those data hit the four targets in the Quadruple Aim. It’s the people who use technology-driven automation to improve SDOH screening processes and measure the results. These results enhance patient experience, improve population health, reduce costs and improve the work life of health care providers.
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Capitalizing on Opportunities
Technology-driven automation can help provider organizations capitalize on these opportunities in the following ways:
- Enhanced Patient Experience:
Screening allows health care providers to understand the patient’s full context and tailor care accordingly, leading to a more patient-centered approach. - Improved Patient Outcomes:
By identifying and addressing social needs, health care providers can help patients overcome barriers to accessing care and improving their health. - Reduced Health Care Costs:
Addressing social needs can prevent unnecessary hospitalizations and emergency department visits, ultimately reducing health care costs. - Strengthened Community Partnerships:
Screening initiatives can help hospitals build relationships with community organizations, creating a network of resources to support patients’ needs.
Case Study: Presbyterian Healthcare Services
From ‘Scattershot’ to Standardized
In 2018, PHS adopted the screening system and used it for the accountable health communities project before scaling up to systemwide screening and integrating it into the EHR in 2021. In early 2024, PHS migrated to Unite Us. The three systems — HRSN screening, EHR and portal — now work in concert to power the HRSN screening process as part of routine health care. This approach eliminated paper screenings, standardized screening workflows across care sites, and integrated patients’ HRSN screening data into their EHRs and patient portals.
Case Study: Yale New Haven Health
Willingness Replaces Hesitancy
In 2020, YNHH implemented the automated social referral platform from Unite Us, a New York-based technology company. This was paired with improved workflows within the EHR. The move turned hesitancy into willingness for each of the system’s challenges. Patients now can complete their HRSN screening questions in their homes through the patient portals. They can do it on their smartphones, tablets, laptops, in kiosks at check-in, and by clinicians and support staff in any inpatient or outpatient setting before, during or after a visit.
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Driving the Drivers
