Study identifies SDoH data integration barriers
While health plans continue to face a range of problems when it comes to SDoH data integration, a recent Health Affairs study found the three leading barriers to be health plan coding; health plan storage, extraction, and mapping; and systemwide improvements.
For the study, the researchers collected data from eight health plans serving Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial populations across the U.S. on their collection and reporting of SDoH quality measures. The plans varied in size, with an average of 13 million members and a range of 100,000 to 47 million.
Here’s what they found:
Health plan coding practices
- Of the eight health plans, only three were able to access LOINC codes for SDoH screening to meet HEDIS® reporting requirements.
- Of the three plans able to access the codes, only two could also pull SNOMED or CPT codes.
- Seven of the eight plans could report Z codes, though current HEDIS measures do not allow the submission of them.
Health plan data storage, extraction, and mapping
- Four of the eight health plans said their SDoH data is mapped manually from fields in electronic health records (EHRs) or case management systems.
- One of the health plans reported challenges with receiving EHR data that was not required by policy mandates.
- The remaining three health plans had automated extraction procedures which required IT resources to build or modify queries.
- Plans struggled matching positive screens with appropriate interventions due to barriers to pulling information from other databases.
Systemwide improvements
Plans said future improvements should focus on:
- Operationalizing SDoH data queries
- Improving interoperability between plans and providers
- Facilitating referrals between health plans and community resources
- Data standardization across field measures
Editor’s note: HEDIS® is a registered trademark of National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and any reference thereto by RISE Health does not imply any endorsement by NCQA of RISE Health and its offerings.
Zocdoc report: Patients prioritize timely, in-person appointments
Zocdoc, a free online scheduling platform to find health care providers, has released its 2024 What Patients Want report, and it pulls the curtain back on patient preferences, behaviors, and sentiments.
The second annual report provides year-over-year trends as well as a look into who accesses care, what characteristics matter most to patients, why patients seek care, when patients want to see a doctor, and where they care.
“Every click tells us something new about patients' preferences, highlighting that each search and booking reflects a unique need, priority, and desire,” wrote the researchers.
Key report findings include:
- Females (66 percent) booked more appointments on Zocdoc than men (34 percent), and nearly half (47 percent) of all bookers were Millennials.
- More than half (68 percent) of the bookings were mobile bookings. Mobile bookings were highest for urgent care, mental health, and primary care, whereas desktop bookings (32 percent) were highest for optometrists and ophthalmologists.
- Eighty-seven percent of patients who booked a mental health appointment booked in-network.
- Nearly one in three appointments occurred within two days of booking and half of all appointments took place within four days, which researchers noted underscores patients’ preference for near-term appointments.
- Urgent care, dermatology, and mental health providers were the top-growing specialty groups.
- Patients strongly preferred booking in-person appointments for nearly all specialties, except for mental health.
The report also included a Patient Empowerment Index score, which was based on respondents’ experiences with access to care, comfort with their providers, and control over their health care. The 2024 Patient Empowerment Index was 55.8, a 3.1 drop from 2023.
Maven Clinic awarded NCQA Health Equity Accreditation
Maven Clinic, the world's largest virtual clinic for women's and family health, announced this week it has received Health Equity Accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), a non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. This marks the first time a women’s and family health clinic has received the Health Equity Accreditation.
"At Maven, we believe health equity is operational, not only aspirational," said Neel Shah, M.D., chief medical officer, Maven Clinic, in a statement. "This accreditation is a resounding validation of Maven's ability to deliver equitable outcomes at scale using digital technology."
NCQA’s Health Equity Accreditation evaluates organizations on a range of areas, including organizational readiness; race/ethnicity, language, gender identity and sexual orientation; access and availability of language services; practitioner network cultural responsiveness; culturally and linguistically appropriate services programs; and reducing health care disparities.
Maven Clinic’s health equity initiatives include but are not limited to:
- A culturally and linguistically appropriate services program to advance quality improvement interventions
- The creation of a community advisory board to inform its clinical and care delivery strategies
- Expanded culturally appropriate resources and support for frontline teams
- Invested in language access services for personalized care