Social Determinants of Health
In Salesforce Health Cloud, data fields and related objects that capture non-clinical factors affecting a patient's health (like housing, food security, transportation, and education), supporting whole-person care coordination.
Definition
In Salesforce Health Cloud, data fields and related objects that capture non-clinical factors affecting a patient's health (like housing, food security, transportation, and education), supporting whole-person care coordination.
In plain English
“Social Determinants of Health in Salesforce Health Cloud are data fields and related objects capturing non-clinical factors that affect a patient's health, like housing, food security, transportation, and education level. They help care teams understand the whole picture of a patient's wellbeing.”
Worked example
Zedoary Health, a community-health nonprofit, uses Salesforce Health Cloud to coordinate care for 8,000 underserved patients. Each patient record captures Social Determinants of Health alongside clinical data - housing stability ("currently homeless," "doubled-up," "stable rental"), food security (Hunger Vital Sign screening), transportation access, language and education level. A care coordinator reviewing a patient's diabetic-management plan sees that the patient is food-insecure and lives in a transit desert; she enrolls them in a community-fridge partnership and schedules an at-home visit instead of a clinic appointment. Social Determinants of Health turn the platform from a clinical record into a whole-person care coordination tool.
Why Social Determinants of Health matters
In Salesforce Health Cloud, Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) are data fields and related objects that capture non-clinical factors affecting a patient's health (like housing, food security, transportation, and education), informing care decisions and resource connections. SDOH are increasingly recognized as major drivers of health outcomes.
Tracking SDOH in Health Cloud enables care teams to address the root causes of health issues beyond clinical treatment. A patient with diabetes who also has food insecurity needs different interventions than one with stable nutrition. Mature Health Cloud deployments use SDOH data to connect patients with community resources and tailor care plans to the patient's full life context.
How organizations use Social Determinants of Health
Captures SDOH during patient intake to inform care plans and resource referrals.
Connects patients to community resources based on identified social needs.
Treats SDOH tracking as essential for holistic patient care.
Test your knowledge
Q1. What are Social Determinants of Health?
Q2. Why track them in Health Cloud?
Q3. What examples are SDOH?
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