Social Determinants of Health May Be Key to Value-based Care
There is growing recognition that improving access to care and patient health, including access to medications, requires focus on social, economic and environmental factors. At its upcoming conference on the social determinants of health, the Pharmacy Quality Alliance will unveil a conceptual framework, developed in conjunction with NPC, describing the medication access patient journey and its implications for quality measurement.
As our health system continues to move towards value-based care, health care stakeholders are progressively regarding the social determinants of health as critical components of value. To address this burgeoning area, the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) is co-sponsoring the Pharmacy Quality Alliance’s (PQA) “Social Determinants of Health Forum: Exploring Medication Access and Quality” Nov. 14-15 in Alexandria, Virginia. This multi-stakeholder forum will discuss new opportunities for improving care by targeting patients’ unmet social needs and the importance of engaging patients and communities to inform quality measurement.
Health care improvement initiatives have focused largely on health system factors. There is growing recognition that improving access to care and patient health, including access to medications, requires focus on social, economic and environmental factors. NPC’s research on social determinants of health has previously highlighted the need to consider health disparities and social factors when looking at access and clinical outcomes among different patient populations. PQA’s Social Determinants of Health Forum offers another opportunity to further understanding on this important topic.
To help forum participants identify opportunities to improve medication access, PQA will unveil a conceptual framework, developed in conjunction with NPC, describing the medication access patient journey and its implications for quality measurement. The forum also will explore the return on investment (ROI) of new care delivery models; the role of health care providers, including pharmacists; and the utility of new data ecosystems in these models.
Senior health care decision-makers are invited to attend this interactive forum, as consensus and collaboration are needed to address unmet social needs and their impact on medication access and health care quality. More information and registration details are available in our Events section.
The forum is made possible with the support of NPC and Pharmacy Quality Solutions.