Leveraging Social Determinants of Health

As I understand this,  the high ROI comes from decreasing unnecessary costs.   Which shows sometimes simple data analysis can provide value.  Just make sure to continue to measure these results.

What Montefiore's 300% ROI from social determinants investments means for the future of other hospitals ...   in Healthcarefinance  via Ryan Doherty of MidMark

By Susan Morse, Senior Editor

Montefiore Health System in the Bronx has tackled the social determinants of health by investing in housing, a move that has cut down on emergency room visits and unnecessary hospitalizations for an annual 300 percent return on investment.

"The lowest I've seen is 300 percent ROI, some years it's higher," said Henie Lustgarten, consultant and president of the Bronx Health & Housing Consortium, an organization Montefiore helped to develop.

Investing in the social determinants of health is becoming more commonplace even as hospitals and physicians ask whether it is their place to step outside of traditional care to not only look at, but try to fix, other reasons that keep patients from getting better.

Value-based care and managed care has spurred many to realize that food insecurity, isolation, lack of housing and other factors must be addressed in their populations for continuity of care to succeed as a real goal.

For many hospitals, buying food and investing in housing becomes less expensive than having a patient return to the emergency room numerous times a year. 

The big opportunity for any hospital 

America's Health Insurance Plans has shown that payers support social determinants issues. By collecting information from members about their social determinants and running that up against claims and other data, insurers can get a more complete picture of members' health, and opportunities for improvement, AHIP said in blog posted Monday.

Addressing social determinants has led to a 26 percent decrease in emergency spending, AHIP said, citing a recent U.S. News op-ed by Ken Burdick, CEO of WellCare Health Plans.

The WellCare findings saw an additional 10 percent reduction in healthcare costs – equating to more than $2,400 in annual savings per person – for people who were successfully connected to social services compared to a control group of members who were not.  ...  "