HIMSSCast: Making SDOH Interventions a Reality
According to Brian Pieninck, president and CEO of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield of the Mid-Atlantic, creating new options for patients in their daily lives can contribute to better health outcomes.
To address the “inextricable link” between economy, environment, community and people’s health trajectories—social determinants of health or, Pieninck’s preferred terminology, social drivers of health—the health care sector must address its very fabric. Pursuing progress and then course-correcting are necessary to break down barriers for those who struggle to access the $4 trillion health care sector, he says.
For example, recent events such as the cyberattack on Change Healthcare and the subsequent outage of claims processing, payments and disbursements can serve as a sobering reminder that healthcare must be constantly vigilant to ensure continuity of care – and that patients can count on that dedication.
The structure of the health care sector, “which has not always been able to meet people where they are,” needs to be rethought and carefully adapted, Pieninck said. Healthcare IT News in this week’s HIMSSCast.
Pieninck, who also serves as chair of the board of directors for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and chair of the board of directors for the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare, highlighted several tools and programs that are changing the SDOH paradigm by improving access and shared insights on the role of artificial intelligence in addressing healthcare challenges.
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Topics of conversation:
- How the cyberattack on Change Healthcare put healthcare under pressure.
- What it means to take control of social drivers.
- The role of artificial intelligence in solving some of healthcare’s biggest challenges.
- The human side of improving access to health care.
- Why health insurers support workforce development.
More about this episode:
There is no single technology that is the perfect answer to the health crisis.
Using Technology to Achieve Health Equity – Social Determinants of Health
NorthShore uses NLP for SDOH
Health equity hampered by SDOH coding obstacles
ONC Creates SDOH Toolkit for Communities
Andrea Fox is Editor-in-Chief of Healthcare IT News.
Email address: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS Media.
The HIMSS AI in Healthcare Forum will take place September 5-6 in Boston. More information and registration.