A Health System Specialty Pharmacy Team’s Role in Addressing Social Determinants of Health

Session Description: In the United States, it is estimated that clinical care only impacts 20% of variation in health outcomes whereas social determinants of health (SDOH) affect as much as 50%, thereby indicating a dire need to improve health care delivery and research—especially in practice.

The purpose of this session is to define SDOH, identify subsequent individual- and system-level impacts of health inequity, and discuss how pharmacy can help break down barriers and close gaps in real-world settings. Furthermore, this session will detail how pharmacy teams—specifically those integrated within health systems—can operationalize and streamline uniform, strategic processes for successful screening and referral of service solutions to address health-related social needs (HRSNs).

Attendees will hear from a clinical outcomes research pharmacist who helped develop and implement a standardized SDOH screening and referral of service pilot program within health system specialty pharmacy (HSSP). Following screening by pharmacists or pharmacy liaisons, patients with unmet social needs were referred to outpatient social services and community partners; following this insight, attendees will also learn about the strategies, roadblocks, and lessons learned from a member of hospital leadership who helped establish this initiative within their health system.