Its Not Always the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

When temperatures dip, and the sun sets early, the cold and dark can get people down. Add the stress, the strained feelings of obligation or the loneliness that some people experience with the holidays, and the winter blues can slump into depression.

Many people get hit by the winter blues, but how do you know when what you are feeling is more than a temporary … Read the rest

Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) in Action-Findings from the Field

What are the most prevalent SDOHs in Montana?

In 2015, Mountain-Pacific Quality Health partnered with three Montana communities to work on a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) project to address complex care patients who frequently use the emergency department (ED) and experience hospital readmissions. The communities expected to see transportation and affordable housing as key SDOH, and they did, but these issues were … Read the rest

Where to Start on Assessing Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)

We get it. Your practice has limited time, limited staff and too many best practices to implement. in our last blog, we made the case for WHY it is important to assess SDOH (insert link). This blog will focus on HOW to begin.

1. Determine why assessing SDOH is important to your practice. This should align with leadership goals and be shared broadly with all staff

Making the Case for Assessing Social Determinants of Health

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) “triple aim” is to improve health care, improve population health and ultimately lower health care costs through quality improvement. Assessing social determinants of health (SDOH) can be a key factor in addressing both better care and lower costs. While the medical community provides much needed care to patients suffering from illness and disease, the causes of early death … Read the rest