Diffusion Of Community Health Workers Within Medicaid Managed Care: A Strategy To Address Social Determinants Of Health

Clinic notes from a Community Health Worker: A 63 year old client and her 70 year old husband had been evicted from their apartment while they were hospitalized and were living in a motel. I was able to assist the elderly couple in finding a new apartment… I’ve helped other clients find housing, jobs, and medical homes, no longer living on the streets.…Another client has been sober for one month, attending church which helped her through the trauma of being a victim of human trafficking…We then helped a woman escape a violent relationship and obtain affordable legal help. We…helped [her son] grapple with his own rages from witnessing family violence while obtaining for him school supplies and new clothing. Social determinants of health (SDH), including where people live, their economic security, their educational attainment, their access to affordable and nutritious food, and their degree of social inclusion, have a greater impact on health than does the health care system. A recent study surveying patients attending primary care clinics revealed that nearly half experienced adverse social determinants but their providers were unaware because they didn’t ask questions about SDH. Yet, despite the importance and prevalence of adverse SDH in the patient population, our predominant fee-for-service incentive system strongly favors investments in individually focused “downstream” medical care at the expense of population-focused “upstream” prevention and social ...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Diffusion of Innovation Featured Medicaid and CHIP Organization and Delivery Population Health Public Health Quality Medicaid Managed Care Social Determinants of Health Source Type: blogs