Majority of Americans Comfortable with SDOH Data Sharing
According to the World Health Organization, Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) are the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life.
Addressing differences in SDOH can make progress towards health equity, a state in which every person has the opportunity to attain their highest level of health, according to the CDC. SDOH has been shown to have a greater influence on health than either genetic factors or access to healthcare services.
Of course, data is the key driver for advancing SDOH, in particular being able to share this important data.
While much of SDOH data is more personal in nature, there are different perceptions amongst Americans regarding their comfort levels with sharing this information.
The ONC recently published a report that showed that while the majority of Americans are comfortable with SDOH information sharing for treatment purposes, four in 10 individuals nationwide report some level of unease with this type of data exchange.
EHR Intelligence recently broke down the findings of the study:
Individuals’ recent experiences with social needs did not significantly impact their rate of comfort with SDOH information sharing by providers for treatment purposes.
Those who reported experiencing SDOH in the past 12 months indicated they were comfortable with providers sharing their data for treatment purposes at similar rates to those who did not experience these needs.
Comfort with each kind of SDOH data sharing (food issues, housing issues, and transportation issues) was significantly lower among individuals who reported receiving average or poor care quality compared to those who felt they received very good or excellent quality of care.
Comfort with SDOH information sharing was also relatively low among Americans who reported little or no trust in the healthcare system and among those who experienced discrimination when receiving medical care, but for fewer social needs.
ONC’s Health IT Buzz blog also provides further insights into this report.
RosettaHealth can assist with any health information challenges you might have, book a free consultation with one of our interoperability experts.