In collaboration with the WHA Information Center (WHAIC), the WHA quality team presented the second in a four-part social determinants of health (SDOH) webinar series on April 27, delivering valuable information to help hospitals and health systems improve health outcomes in their communities.
This series has drawn over 180 registrants from 42 hospitals and health systems to date. The first webinar, “Setting the Stage for SDOH Z-Code Data Capture,” held in January, featured Gloria Kupferman of the American Hospital Association and focused on the importance of Z-Code collection from the national perspective, the importance of capturing SDOH in the medical record and an overview of the status of Z-code collection in Wisconsin hospitals with data shared by WHA Information Center.
Webinar two, Tales from the Trenches, featured Bellin Health’s journey. According to Bellin’s Population Health Operational Lead Jordan Kerscher, leadership buy-in starts with aligning the organization’s mission and vision. Bellin’s work with SDOH began in 2018, when the system developed a screening strategy in primary care for adults, which was eventually rolled out to adolescents and children. Patients complete a questionnaire annually at their primary care visit. From there, a care team identifies SDOH risks from a software program, and a unique patient composite score is created. The custom-built SmartSet contains resources for each SDOH category.
Lessons Bellin staff have learned from their experience thus far include the need for a multi-disciplinary planning team and the importance of starting slow and not including every visit. Having resources for each domain and achieving provider buy-in are also critical to success, as is monitoring results and using the data generated to understand the needs of your organization. Bellin soon plans to expand SDOH assessments and processes to the hospital and emergency department settings.
A recording of “The Journey to a Healthier Wisconsin – Tales from the Trenches” webinar will be available
here soon, under the Videos & Recorded Webinars heading. The recording from webinar one can be found on the same page.
The third webinar in this series is scheduled for July 27, 2022. This session will provide another unique case study from Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, whose representatives will discuss their approach to SDOH and Z-code collection. Registration for this webinar will open soon. The fourth webinar in the series will be held on October 26, 2022.