Bridging the gaps to address social determinants of health
Connecting people to the help they need with dignity and ease
Over the past decade, social determinants of health (SDOH) has become a common phrase within the healthcare industry, but it is still one of the hardest problems to solve. How can we finally bridge the gap to care for so many? Why are there still so many challenges after all these years? While there are no quick fixes, the first step we should consider is to solve the information problem — the accessibility for people to understand all their benefits and options. The ability for people to know what is available for their use is essential for them to be able to choose for themselves.
findhelp, previously known as Aunt Bertha, is a company focused on connecting people to the help they need with dignity and ease. CEO and Founder, Erine Gray, joined SameSky Health Founder and CEO, Abner Mason for an episode of our LinkedIn Live Series, Under the Same Sky. Erine discussed how his personal journey of the healthcare process led him to start findhelp many years before SDOH became a mainstream focus. View the recording below.
findhelp is bringing technology innovations to social services. They have built the nation’s leading social care network with technology that was built by people who understand the challenges of everyday difficulties. From working in the fields of social work, education, and healthcare, and having sought help themselves, findhelp’s unique viewpoints drive compassion for their larger community. They believe that partnering government programs with the private sector can help to solve the SDOH problems more quickly. Using their technology, they are helping people, including those in Medicaid and Medicare Advantage programs, to find and enroll in services they need.
“What is the definition of SDOH? It’s poverty. Poverty is hard to solve…A big problem is avoidable poverty — solving the information problem so that people understand which options they have available.”
So what challenges are on the horizon? When the information problem is solved and people feel confident in their ability to seek and find answers, the next step is expansion and understanding exactly what people want in the future. The data between how a person finds information and how they actually make a decision is currently unknown. Once we know more about this, it could allow for more doors to open around further digitizing the sector of social services, healthcare services, and more. “You can’t study the data until there is data to study,” said Erine. Because the data is just now starting to compile for SDOH, we still have a long way to go.
Government regulations, privacy protections, and interoperability are also challenges that people aren’t paying enough attention to yet. The healthcare industry is behind in pushing the policy envelope and connecting all the pieces. The ability to analyze and use the data across every platform within the industry will continue to advance the technology and simply help more people, not just those participating in non-profits or government programs, but also for employers and health plans. The time to act is now.
Hear more from the conversation between Erine and Abner by watching the video above. Learn more about findhelp here.
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