Michigan docs screen for social needs, but there’s room for improvement

Michigan docs screen for social needs, but there’s room for improvement

More Michigan physicians screen for social needs today than in 2018, a CHRT brief finds. Over 50 percent of physicians screen for ability to afford treatment, domestic violence, and social isolation. However, physicians are less likely to report that they screen patients for health literacy (43 percent), employment status (39 percent), and traumatic life experiences (36 percent). Further, not all physicians that screened for social needs knew where to refer patients who screened positively. And conversely, some physicians knew where to refer patients but did not have a formal screening process in place. Such findings suggest that more streamlined processes for screening and referrals could be useful for patients with one or more social needs. The authors also explain that reimbursements for organizations that provide social need services could improve community capacity to address these needs.