The program aims to standardize the way social determinants of health data, including food insecurity, is shared electronically, and pilot and evaluate new social screening tools in EHRs. Standards-setting organizations will then work to scale these techniques to lower the screening burden on clinicians.
The coalition also includes Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health; Meditech; The Joint Commission; St. Louis-based SSM Health; the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Clearwater, Fla.-based BayCare Health System; Newport News, Va.-based Riverside Health System; and HL7 International.
The initiative was part of the Biden administration’s $8 billion commitment during the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health on Sept. 28 to reduce health disparities.