Chapter 19 - Health information exchange: incorporating social and environmental determinants of health into health information exchange

Abstract

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are critical pieces of the overall health of an individual and of the community. Incorporating these data into health information exchange (HIE) networks has the potential to provide value by improving the ability of clinicians to deliver patient-centered care, the ability of healthcare systems to effectively management their populations, and the achievement of community health and well-being outcomes. This is incentivized by value-based payment structures as well as an increased focus on identifying and addressing disparities in health. However, including SDOH within HIE networks is not without challenges. SDOH data do not always fit neatly into existing data models and syntactic and semantic coding systems. Aggregate data may not have a significant effect on patient-level health outcomes. However, SDOH have shown potential for improving prediction models to prevent adverse health outcomes, like readmission, and to facilitate access to needed social services. This chapter examines SDOH and early progress on incorporating them into HIE networks.