In February, Cynthia Herrick, MD and colleagues had their research titled “The adoption of social determinants of health documentation in clinical settings,” published in “Health Services Research.”
The study was focused on understanding “the frequency of social determinants of health (SDOH) diagnosis codes (Z-codes) within the electronic health record for patients with prediabetes and diabetes and examine factors influencing the adoption of SDOH documentation in clinical care.”
Herrick and colleagues examined the Z-codes, demographics and outcomes for all patients, with and without social needs. In addition, they interviewed 23 participants to further determine how factors influenced SDOH documentation on various levels, such as innovation, individual, organization and environmental.
In conclusion, they state that “providers recognized the impact of SDOH on patient health and had positive perceptions of screening for and documenting social needs. Implementation strategies are needed to improve systematic documentation.”
The adoption of social determinants of health documentation in clinical settings