A 60-second survey to identify patients’ unmet social needs

The connection between poor social determinants of health and high utilization of health care is well established. The use of emergency departments for illnesses manageable within the community is common, as are hospitalizations due to preventable disease complications. Patients with poorer social determinants of health tend to have higher 30-day hospital readmission rates. Inspired by Arthur Kaufman’s The WellRx Toolkit, we set out to better understand the unmet social needs of our patients to prioritize strategies for providing assistance. Findings were used to identify partnerships that could connect patients with resources in their communities, potentially reducing patient health burdens and systemic dysfunction.