Boston Medical Center tool screens for patients' unmet social needs

Developed and implemented by Boston Medical Center, a new EHR-based tool screens patients for unmet social needs, also referred to as social detriments of health. The screener, called Thrive, asks patients questions regarding the following social detriments of health factors: homelessness and housing insecurity, food insecurity, lack of transportation to medical appointments, inability to afford medications, caregiving, utilities, educational aspirations, and unemployment. Patients answer these questions while in the waiting room prior to their appointments, and they also have the option to indicate whether they would like assistance addressing one or more of their needs. A medical assistant then inputs a patient's responses into the EHR. If the patient has requested assistance, the provider will be alerted via the EHR to discuss the issue(s) with the patient during the appointment.

A study published in Medical Care examined data from 1,696 patients at Boston Medical Center who used Thrive between August 2017 and January 2018. According to the study, 26% of patients described having one (or more) unmet social needs. The most frequently identified unmet needs included employment, food insecurity, and difficulty affording medications.

Boston Medical Center currently uses Thrive in its ambulatory care clinics and has since screened more than 57,000 patients. Of these patients, 28% reported one or more unmet needs, and 19% have asked for help with these social detriments of health.

Source: Becker's Hospital Review