Screening is just the start

Some healthcare and nonmedical providers have ample screening methods to assess needs related to social determinants of health but fall short of offering actual programming to the patient populations who need those services. A McKinsey survey of US providers found that fewer than half of them offer programming specific to social determinants (employment or food security, for example), although some of the providers offer referrals to address the need gaps.

Providers tend to be more robust in screening for social determinants of health than in programming to meet needs.

To read the article, see “How providers are meeting patients’ basic needs—and where they could do more,” August 11, 2022.