While the need to address social determinants of health (SDOH) is definitely not new, 2023 marks the first year SDOH is codified into national and statewide value-based payment program mandates. These mandates are designed to hold Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) accountable. While the rollout of SDOH code sets across our healthcare ecosystem is one phase, alone it’s not enough. The next phases are even more critical: codes must be collected, used,
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Population Health Management (PHM) in Healthcare | News, Analysis, Insights - HIT Consultant
Advancing Health Equity by Addressing The Health Data Desert
Massive disparities continue to plague healthcare in the United States. Many Americans do not have access to quality care, leading to higher rates of diseases like diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and obesity. Health equity means ensuring that health resources and services are accessible and affordable for everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, geography, ethnicity, or financial circumstances.
Health equity allows people to lead active and productive lives, reduces the
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Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA): Why More Is Not Always Better
In a society where so many want more—more money, more time off, more adventure—few stop to question the logic of insatiably wanting “more.” Perhaps, no place does the consequence of wanting more negatively impact people than with healthcare treatments. Medication use, for example, shows clear dose-response curves, where over-use can have fatal consequences; negative consequences and death also can result from too much chemotherapy, radiation, antibiotic use, or complications from unnecessary
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It’s Time to Treat Substance Use Disorder Like the Chronic Disease It Is
Far too often, substance use disorder (SUD) is viewed as an “acute condition,” one that can be “cured” with short-term treatment, such as a week-long stay in a detox facility. This could not be further from the truth. The failure to understand the science behind addiction leads individuals who are undertreated or inappropriately treated to return to use again and again.
SUD is not a moral failing. It is not a behavioral issue. It is not a choice. The leading health organizations around the
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UnitedHealthcare Donates $2.85M for Direct Service Workers in Indiana
What You Should Know:
UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Indiana has provided $2.85M to four organizations working to advance the direct service health workforce in the state. Direct service workers (DSWs) are essential in providing care to long-term services and support recipients who choose to age and live in their homes, especially those in underserved communities and rural areas. DSWs include certified nursing assistants, home health aides, direct support professionals,
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ZeOmega Integrates SDOH Platform w/ Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare
What You Should Know:
ZeOmega announced it has integrated its Jiva Population Health Enterprise Management Platform’s SDOH Social Care solution with Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare built for Microsoft Azure. The integration empowers healthcare organizations with Azure to achieve increased access, seamless compatibility, and unmatched administrative efficiency, enabling smoother processes and freeing healthcare professionals to prioritize exceptional patient care. SDOH takes center
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Virgin Pulse Launches Global Loneliness Challenge for Employers
What You Should Know:
Virgin Pulse launches a five-week global loneliness challenge for employers and health plans designed to foster social connections and reverse costly adverse health risks.Social isolation and loneliness is a worldwide problem and is clinically proven to be detrimental to individual and population health. The Striding for Connection challenge is being offered to all current clients worldwide to empower members to foster new connections while strengthening
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UnitedHealthcare Awards $11.1M in Grants to Expand Care Access
What You Should Know:
UnitedHealthcare, today announced it is awarding $11.1 million in grants to 66 nonprofit organizations across 12 states through its Empowering Health program. These grants address social determinants of health (SDoH) and help uninsured individuals and underserved communities. Since launching its Empowering Health commitment in 2018, UnitedHealthcare has invested more than $62 million in Empowering Health grants reaching more than 11 million people through
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How the VA Uses Synthetic Data to Predict Veterans’ Suicide Risk
Suicide is a major public health crisis in America, resulting in one death every 11 minutes, on average.
In 2020, suicide was among the top 9 leading causes of death for people between 10 and 64 years of age. Each year, suicide and nonfatal self-harm cost the nation nearly $490 billion in medical costs, work-loss costs, the value of statistical life, and quality-of-life costs, according to statistics cited by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For America’s
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Unite Us Partners with Healthix and Regional Social Care Networks
What You Should Know:
Today Unite Us, a leading software company enabling cross-sector collaboration to improve people's health and well-being, announced a partnership with Healthix, the largest public health information exchange (HIE) in the nation serving New York City and Long Island.Healthix and Unite Us will provide technology to enable communication between healthcare systems and social care networks. Together, they aim to address social drives of health such as food, housing,
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