Asembia 2022: Identifying and Addressing Social Determinants of Health
It’s in all our best interests to address health equity and help improve health outcomes for all patients, regardless of who they are and where they live and work. Addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) is a critical component of doing so. Earlier this month, I had the privilege of co-presenting at the Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas with John Colaizzi, Jr., Walgreens’ senior director of specialty pharmacy operations. John and I discussed how specialty pharmacies are well positioned to help identify patients with high social needs and how to help connect them with resources and services.
Here are four takeaways from our presentation:
1. SDOH factors impact everyone in one way or another.
Research proves SDOH factors can influence up to 80% of a person’s health outcomes in a negative or positive way.1 These factors include the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age.2 A variety of aspects such as housing, transportation, income, and literacy fall into five pillars2:
• Healthcare access and quality
• Education access and quality
• Social and community context
• Economic stability
• Neighborhood and built environment
2. Specialty pharmacies have supported patients with high social needs for years and are well-positioned to expand efforts to address more SDOH factors.
Our pharmacy teams have played a critical role in helping ensure the health and well-being of our communities throughout the pandemic and beyond in the following key areas:
• Financial assistance: In 2021, across AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy and Walgreens retail locations, we helped patients connect to more than $787 million in financial assistance to pay for their medications.*
• Clinical programs: Clinicians are trained to understand patients and how to effectively communicate in ways they understand, considering factors such as literacy and language proficiency.
• Community partnerships: Partnering with nonprofits and patient advocacy groups provides more insights about patients with specific conditions or in certain communities, while also revealing new opportunities to collaborate for improved health outcomes.
• Preventive services: Pharmacy staff contact patients at least every 30 days. They use these touchpoints to educate patients about health topics like mammograms or immunizations.
3. Specialized team(s) addressing health equity and SDOH should include clinicians and non-clinicians.
Collaboration amongst groups – including pharmacists, nurses, product, patient insights, creative and marketing teams – can help multiply the impact of a SDOH solution. Pulling together expertise from across your organization or company can help ensure your program is truly patient-centered.
4. Actionable data and patient insights are essential to understanding unique patient challenges and creating sustainable impact.
We know we not only need to have relationships with our payer and pharma partners, but also data and insights about our patients. Do they have access to safe housing? Do they live in an under-resourced neighborhood? When was the last time they had a preventive health screening, or a flu shot?
At AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy, we are looking at our own data but also working with providers, pharmaceutical manufacturers and health plan payers on pilots and programs to identify patients who may be at greater risk for non-adherence.
We continue to learn more about what our patients need, where we have gaps, and what to keep in mind as we move forward building out solutions to address SDOH. For AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy, this is not a temporary focus – addressing SDOH factors is critical to how we provide hope and care for better tomorrows to all patients.
*January 2021 – December 2021 combined across all disease states from Local and Central Specialty for Walgreens and AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy data. Not all patients qualify for financial assistance programs
Sources:
1. Social determinants of health. World Health Organization Web site.
2. What are social determinants of health? CDC Web site. Last reviewed March 10, 2021.
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