Addressing Social Determinants

Today, only 20% of an individual’s health status is related to clinical healthcare. The other 80% is shaped by socioeconomic facts, physical environment, and health behaviors. To connect patients with resources to meet these needs, Pieces Technologies https://PiecesTech.com is building software capable of interpreting patient information in real time. The goal is to transform billions of data points into tools to accurately pinpoint sources of information in communities.

The University of Virginia Health https://uvahealth.com has purchased a technology-based referral network called “PIECES IRIS”, a scalable, cloud-based case management platform to help communities address the social, economic, and behavioral determinants of health. This solution connects healthcare organizations with community groups to work to improve social determinants of health so people get the help they need beyond the clinical setting.

The Pieces Iris Community Group, comprised of several community-based organizations and UVA Health, has been working together since July 2018 to implement technology to solve the shared challenge of having up-to-date information on resources, referral processes, and eligibility criteria.

As announced last May, Pieces Technologies is partnering with Northwell Health https://northwell.edu, New York State’s largest healthcare provider. They are working on creating a patient and community-level social vulnerability index.

The index will enable a more comprehensive picture of patients’ needs at the point-of-care, allow care teams to create intervention plans to promote clinical well-being and referrals to social service community-based organizations, and promote individual and community level social well-being. When developed, this tool will enable Northwell to more strategically identify and address social determinants of health.