IMAT Solutions Blog

04 Dec Social Determinants of Health: Data Drives Lasting Health Improvements

Posted at 19:46h in Health Payers by DesignWorks 0 Comments

0 Likes

Over the past six months, there have been a wide-range of stories around how payers and providers are ramping up efforts around social determinants of health. From concierge services to food security, the foundation for bringing these efforts to life is data. Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI) President & CEO Steve Miff, PhD recently commented about how the Parkland Health System in Dallas is actually moving the needle in this emerging area. At PCCI, Miff and...

20 Nov Blue Health Intelligence Playing Critical Role in Using Data to Understand Healthcare Costs

Posted at 20:18h in Health Payers by DesignWorks 0 Comments

1 Like

In the payer arena, there is a wide-range of claims data that can help in understanding, analyzing and ultimately reducing overall healthcare costs in the United States. To meet this objective, the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) amasses data on 50 million commercially insured individuals each year, through its existing partnerships with leading payers like Aetna, Human, and Kaiser Permanente. The organization recently announced a partnership with Blue Health Intelligence, a data division of Blue Cross Blue...

13 Nov National Academies of Sciences Study on SDOH Needs to Consider Data Management

Posted at 09:00h in Health Payers by DesignWorks 0 Comments

1 Like

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently published a comprehensive report that offers what it calls “5As” for helping care organizations to embrace social determinants of health (SDOH) strategies. These “5As” stand for the five acronyms that aim to guide care organizations into this new frontier, and are the following: Awareness: This should focus on identifying the social risks and assets of specific patients and populations of patients. Adjustment: Instead of addressing social needs...

07 Nov Interoperability Proposals Push HIEs to Focus on Data Quality

Posted at 00:40h in Health Payers, HIEs by DesignWorks 0 Comments

1 Like

With HHS getting ready to finalize its interoperability and information blocking rules, this new horizon could spark innovation advances from HIEs, according to a recent Modern Healthcare article. The article highlights how HIEs have been key players in facilitating healthcare interoperability to date, with about 70 percent of hospitals participating in at least one nationwide network. With the new interoperability rules, there will be new expectations for sharing health data with more organizations and even patients. With...

30 Oct Health Payers and Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) News Roundup

Posted at 22:26h in Health Payers by DesignWorks 0 Comments

1 Like

Health payers are embracing new social determinants of health (SDOH) efforts to both enhance population health and drive down overall costs. From housing to exercise, mental health support and ability to afford medications, many payers are shifting towards “whole person” care, and are realizing that there is much to learn in this emerging arena. Thankfully, we have aggregated all of the valuable SDOH news you can use in the following summary of the latest IMAT Solutions blog...

23 Oct Alignment Health Plan to Offer Concierge Services and Social Determinants of Health Benefits

Posted at 16:54h in Health Payers by DesignWorks 0 Comments

1 Like

From transportation to appointments to grocery benefits to companion care, Alignment Health Plan will offer qualified Medicare Advantage members a wide-range of social determinants of health (SDOH) benefits in 2020. According to this recent Health Payer Intelligence article, the grocery benefit will provide members with a monthly allowance at CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart, and the companion care benefit Alignment will connect members with college students who can help with non-medical tasks such as household chores and...

17 Oct PwC Study: Data Analytics Critical for Advancing Social Determinants of Health Efforts for Payers

Posted at 18:55h in Health Payers by DesignWorks 0 Comments

0 Likes

A recent study by the PwC Health Research Institute is urging healthcare stakeholders to “act now” when it comes to addressing social determinants of health (SDOH). The report highlights how investing earlier in social determinants strategies that help people with housing, exercise, mental health support and ability to afford medications, will help governments and health systems save money in the long-term and improve health outcomes. To bring these efforts to life, PwC is calling on payers to...

25 Sep GAO Report: Need for Social Determinants of Health Programs to Treat High-Cost Medicaid Beneficiaries

Posted at 21:14h in Health Payers by DesignWorks 0 Comments

1 Like

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued a report about how Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) such as a lack of stable transportation or housing are making it difficult for states and managed care organizations to treat the most expensive Medicaid beneficiaries. While the report found that many states used care management, which coordinates care across different providers, to rein in high-cost beneficiaries, many also reported major hurdles with implementing care management for some high-cost beneficiaries. These...

18 Sep Optima Health Addresses Food Security in Social Determinants of Health Efforts

Posted at 22:52h in Health Payers by DesignWorks 0 Comments

0 Likes

As we have highlighted before, many payers are addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) by addressing some of the more human elements, which include housing to having local field teams working on the ground with patients. Optima Health is taking this concept one-step-further by launching a new program that lowers financial barriers to healthy food options, and increases overall food security. Much of this effort is taking place in the state of Virginia, where the percentage of...

11 Sep Health Payers: Schema Versus Data Lakes and Social Determinants of Health Efforts

Posted at 19:00h in Health Payers by DesignWorks 0 Comments

1 Like

With many payers embracing social determinants of health (SDOH) for “whole person” care, there are bound to be challenges when it comes to managing massive amounts of health data. In addition, tackling social barriers, such as transportation access, safe housing, as well as health and diet, requires a major effort to standardize how data is collected, processed and integrated to develop programs that support patient well-being. As such, many payers are most likely considering the options between schema/structured...