Healthcare and life science organisations are no stranger to data, while investment in EHR systems has improved operations and opened new opportunities for patient care, other contributors to healthy outcomes, such as living conditions, socioeconomic status and environmental factors are not being fully utilised.
But this is all about to change, according to Salesforce. Today, the CRM giant announced new updates to Salesforce Health Cloud, including a new feature which promises to allow care providers to make use of data based on other factors that impact a patient’s health: social determinants of health.
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A spokesperson from Salesforce explained how with this new update, care providers can capture critical social determinant information – such as a patient’s transportation options, housing status and care network, and access it in a patient profile – directly within Health Cloud. This gives the provider a more complete view of the critical factors that influence wellness, adherence and outcomes, all on one connected platform.
“A care provider that wants to limit a patient’s risk for readmission can know if the patient has access to transportation, or the ability to purchase healthy meals,” said the spokesperson. “Similarly, a life science organisation that wants to help patients adhere to their therapies or properly use their medical devices can see a patient’s employment status and living arrangements, and thus offer the necessary level of financial and in-home support. A payer organisation can deliver personalised preventive or wellness materials to members based on the member’s education or reading level.”
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