Report identifies promising practices for improving care for socially at-risk populations

Based on a review of case studies and published literature, a new report from the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine identifies six practices that show promise for improving care for socially at-risk populations: commitment to health equity; data and measurement; comprehensive needs assessment; collaborative partnerships; care continuity; and engaging patients in their care. “Both the availability of resources and the alignment of financial incentives that makes practices to improve the quality of care, health and other outcomes for socially at-risk populations sustainable are prerequisites for the adoption and sustainability of these practices and programs,” adds the report, the second in a series initiated by the Department of Health and Human Services to inform analyses that account for social risk factors in Medicare payment programs mandated through the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act. The first report presented a conceptual framework for linking social risk factors and health literacy to health-related measures important to Medicare payment and quality programs. The third report, expected in a few months, will look at whether social risk factors could be accounted for in Medicare value-based purchasing programs and how.