Not owning a vehicle in New York City has negligible impact on a person’s health. Not owning one in a rural area — or even a booming metropolis like Nashville that lacks a diversified public transportation system — can be life-threatening. This tale of two cities suggests that transportation, perhaps more than any other social determinant of health, illustrates the link between ZIP code, disparities and health outcomes. The importance of transportation Missing medical appointments due to lack of transportation is a stark example of how SDOH can directly impact health outcomes. The ability to get where and when you need to is also connected to other social determinants of health domains such as finance, food and housing. However, one study found that transportation is found in fewer SDOH assessment tools (66%) than any other metric besides social and community context (61%) and physical activity (33%). Addressing transportation inequality begins with knowing how it impacts populations ...

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) releases updates annually to the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Standards and Guidelines. Any primary care practice, whether first transforming to achieve PCMH recognition, or a practice seeking to maintain recognition, must implement and demonstrate the core criteria of the PCMH standards and guidelines. NCQA has added numerous elective criteria for practices to pursue to ensure they have an adequate amount of credits to achieve recognition between the mandatory core and elective criteria available. Practices should visit the NCQA website for the latest version (v8) of the standards and guidelines , released on July 1, 2022. Health equity An update made this year is to best align with the Health Equity Accreditation/Plus program offered by NCQA. Also, in response to lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, PCMHs should be positioned to understand what vulnerabilities and social determinants may impact their patients...

Why is healthcare so confusing? Navigating its complexity is the last thing a patient needs when their health is on the line. Yet, this confusion happens every day — even to career healthcare professionals who understand how the system works. Many startups have been launched to "fix healthcare" due to a founder's personal negative experience. The Health Resources and Services Administration defines health literacy as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information needed to make appropriate health decisions.” Without healthcare literacy, navigating the complexities of the healthcare system becomes impossible. It is the foundation of patient self-advocacy. Addressing health literacy goes to the heart of literacy itself. It has as much to do with how information is presented as how it is understood. "Health literacy represents a lot of opportunity on the healthcare industry side. We can do a lot better than...

For hospitals, the question arises every three years: How can we conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment that delivers more insight for better population health with less burden ? Allocating appropriate resources and finding the bandwidth and expertise to execute a fully compliant CHNA is a challenge — particularly for first-time submissions or during strategic transitions. As hospitals prepare for their next CHNA, the following information can guide strategies to maximize assessment tools, metrics and analyses — all for better interventions and outcomes. Simplify a complex process without burdening staff. It’s difficult for hospitals to achieve efficiencies of scale for a process like CHNA that only occurs every three years. That’s why insight from experts consistently examining the process of CHNA year-round is so valuable. DataGen’s CHNA Advantage™ makes your assessment more robust without requiring additional staff or resources. CHNA Advantage’s turnkey tools and metrics apply...

In this edition of DataGen Insights, we look at how alternative payment model participants can ensure their processes and workflows are optimally set up for success. To help, DataGen listed the top three strategies all providers participating in APMs can employ and created a handy checklist to enable maximum returns and reduce financial risk. Please explore our website to learn more about our  products and services .  Download DataGen Insights today .  We hope you enjoy!

Are you up to date with the latest on alternative payment models?  This summer, catch up on all that you might have missed! Check out this list of must-reads from the last few months on APMs like Primary Care First, Kidney Care Choices, and more. Alternative Payment Models (General) Top challenges providers face in alternative payment models [Physician’s Practice] What to expect from CMS’ second decade of APM programs Primary Care First Start the year off right: DataGen answers your Primary Care First questions Three Steps to Successfully Participate in Primary Care First INFOGRAPHIC: 3 Strategies for PCF Success Why you must consider leakage for Primary Care First Kidney Care Choices Crucial rules and deadline guidance for Kidney Care Choices INFOGRAPHIC: 3 Strategies for KCC Success Critical Tools for Kidney Care Choices Success Oncology Care Model Lessons Learned from the Oncology Care Model If you have any questions or would...

It’s 5 p.m. on a Tuesday. You’re exhausted and still need to pick something up for dinner. The nearest grocery store is 15 miles away, and the only thing closer is a convenience store with higher prices and fewer healthy options. This is what it can be like to live in a food desert  — one of several contributing factors of food insecurity. Food insecurity and limited or uncertain access to adequate food impacts millions of Americans each year. And the pandemic only compounded access and affordability issues that drive food insecurity like irregular income, unemployment and disability. Add to this heredity’s influence, race and ethnicity and you have a very complex picture of food-related health issues in 21-century America. While most social determinants of health lay outside of healthcare’s circle of influence, they create conditions that erupt inside its circle of treatment. In most cases, the healthcare industry faces acute to downstream effects in the form of imprope...