Knowledge Base Article

Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) are economic and social conditions (i.e., food insecurity, homelessness) that can impact an individual’s health status. As the number of Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) increases the potential for a patient to have poorer health and increased healthcare utilization also increases.

In the May 2, 2019 issue of mlnconnects, CMS included the following tools that organizations can use to measure these factors to help achieve health equity:

• Z codes from ICD-10-CM: Group of codes within the ICD-10 (diagnostic) codes that help capture a patient’s socioeconomic and/or psychosocial needs
• Accountable Health Communities Health-Related Social Needs Screening Tool: Identify needs related to social determinants
• Protocol for Responding to and Assessing Patients' Assets, Risks, and Experiences (PRAPARE) Tool: - Opens in a new window  : Collect the data needed to better understand and act on patients’ social determinants of health
• Health Leads Screening Toolkit - Opens in a new window  : Comprehensive way to assess patients for adverse social determinants

In the newsletter, CMS went on to indicate they are proposing that some data elements specific to SDOH’s has been proposed in several post-acute care provider settings to help “strengthen our understanding of the relationship between social determinants of health and health care use across diverse populations, allowing us to develop solutions and better connect patients to much needed services.”

As a reminder, the SDOH Z-code Z59.0 Homelessness is being proposed for a CC severity designation in the FY 2020 IPPS Proposed Rule. You can read more about this in a related article at: http://www.mmplusinc.com/news-articles/item/fy-2020-ipps-proposed-rule.