Change Healthcare Launches Social Determinants of Health Analytics

Change Healthcare has launched an innovative national data resource that connects the circumstances of people’s lives to the care they receive. The solution, Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) Analytics, is a resource to help health systems, insurers, and life sciences organizations explore how geodemographic factors affect patient outcomes.

Scientific research has shown that 80% of health outcomes are SDoH-related. Barriers such as food and housing availability, transportation insecurity, and education inequity must be addressed to reduce health disparities and improve outcomes. Change Healthcare’s SDoH Analytics links deidentified claims with factors such as financial stability, education level, ethnicity, housing status, and household characteristics to reveal the correlations between SDoH, clinical care, and patient outcomes. The resulting dataset is deidentified in accordance with HIPAA privacy regulations.

“All the work I do—for Mayo Clinic, the COVID-19 Healthcare Coalition, and The Fight Is In Us—is predicated on equity,” says John Halamka, president of Mayo Clinic Platform. “The only way we can eliminate racism and disparities in care is to better understand the challenges. Creating a national data resource on the social determinants of health is an impactful first step.”

Health care organizations can now use SDoH Analytics to assess, select, and implement effective programs to help reduce costs and improve patient outcomes. Organizations can choose one of the following three ways to use SDOH Analytics:

• receive customized reports identifying SDoH factors that impact emergency department, inpatient, and outpatient visits across diverse population health segments;

• append existing systems with SDoH data to close information gaps and help optimize both patient engagement and outcomes; or

• leverage a secure, hosted environment with ongoing compliance monitoring for the development of unique data analytics, models, or algorithms.

“Health care providers have long known that diseases impact people differently based on various factors, a challenge that has become acutely clear during the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Michael Pencina, PhD, vice dean for data science and information technology at Duke University School of Medicine. “Access to social determinants of health data allows us to support fair and equitable care and to apply novel methodologies to new challenges. We are currently leveraging this data to help ensure that the right therapies are being used for the right patient at the right time in their treatment. And that should lead to better health care for all.”

Organizations can get started by visiting the SDoH Analytics site for more information.

— Source: Change Healthcare

Library of Aging in Place Videos Now Available

The National Aging in Place Council (NAIPC), an association of in-home service providers for America’s seniors, debuts a collection of educational videos on aging in place topics on NAIPC-TV via YouTube.

In celebration of National Aging in Place Week 2020, NAIPC and its local chapters hosted virtual meetings and presentations, released training and informational videos, and provided educational resources to caregivers, service providers, and older adults across the country.

The theme for the week was “Planning to Age in Place in the Time of COVID.” National and local presentations covered topics such as the following:

• Medicare and COVID: What You Need to Know;
• Medicare Made Simple;
• How to Age in Place During a Pandemic;
• Planning for Incapacity with a Power of Attorney;
• Keeping Seniors Safe Using the Latest Technology;
• Paying for Long-Term Care;
• What to Do When the Paycheck Ends;
• Your Health Plan to Age in Place;
• Home Modifications for Aging Well;
• How to Care for the Aging Mouth;
• Advance Care Planning in Five Easy Steps;
• Unique Solutions to Retirement and LTC Funding; and
• Planning to Plan: When, Where, and How to Start.

“Over 40 members shared resources and tools for creating comprehensive, long-term aging plans through four live National events and 29 NAIPC-TV uploads,” says Tara Ballman, NAIPC director of programming.

Members of NAIPC will continue to share educational videos, trainings, and presentations on the NAIPC-TV YouTube channel, which is now open for public viewing. Subscribers to the channel will receive alerts when new videos are added.

NAIPC also has a variety of downloadable documents and checklists to help create a customized Aging in Place plan at www.aginginplace.org. The popular “Act III: Your Plan for Aging in Place” walks families through ways to sustain a safe and secure lifestyle by addressing the “five pillars of aging”: housing, health and wellness, personal finance, transportation, and social interaction.

“The pandemic has forced older adults, like all age groups, to spend much more time in their homes,” Ballman says. “This has made planning for Aging in Place more essential than ever. Seniors and their families need to be keenly aware of all the in-home services available to them, as well as how and where to access them. Our job is to make sure older adults across the country are informed and prepared. No one should be unable to find the resources they need.”

— Source: National Aging in Place Council