New study of over 700 patients shows that treating food insecurity can reduce healthcare utilization by 30%
By Becca Roberts Last updated Dec 8, 2022
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.–(BUSINESS WIRE). use of healthcare by more than 30 percent.
Reading Hospital is a 714-bed acute care hospital in Berks County, PA and includes many world-class specialty care centers. It is the flagship hospital of Tower Health, the region's largest hospital system. In 2017, Reading Hospital received a $4.5 million grant from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement the Accountable Health Communities (AHC) model and evaluate whether the accountability of the health-related social needs of local Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries would impact their overall healthcare costs and consumption of inpatient and outpatient healthcare.
The case study, "Impacting SDOH through cross-sector collaboration," examining the impact of Reading's work, examined 747 patients with addressed nutritional needs and found that in this cohort, emergency department visits decreased by 32 percent and hospitalizations decreased by 32 percent, Readmissions were reduced by 30 percent and hospital costs fell by 31 percent. In the patients who were also entered in the diabetes registry, the A1C rates fell by an average of 2.2 percent.
Reading Hospital brought together clinical and community partners across the region to optimize capacity to address health-related social needs. The hospital relied on WellSky Social Care Coordination as a referral platform to build a collaborative community network that includes a variety of providers including a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), a Managed Care Organization (MCO), the Departments of Health and Humanities Pennsylvania services, doctors, food banks and food supplies, and many nonprofit community-based organizations (CBOs).
"Access to fresh, wholesome food was a serious gap in our community and impacted other aspects of our residents' health," said Desha Dickson, vice president of diversity, equity, inclusion and community wellbeing at Tower Health. "I was thrilled to see all of these partners coming together to tackle this challenge and the results speak for themselves. Tackling food insecurity has been a critical step in improving the overall well-being of our community."
Using WellSky technology, project partners were able to send and receive referrals electronically, assess the needs of the referees and ensure referral completion. This closed-loop system created a level of accountability that could not have been achieved with email or phone calls.
"This study confirms what we have always believed at WellSky – that social care is health care," said Bill Miller, CEO of WellSky. "Enabling healthcare plans and healthcare systems to address SDoH through the closed-loop recommendation platforms we specialize in will be one of the biggest drivers of reducing healthcare costs and improving outcomes over the next decade. Our commitment to collaborative care through technology creates a true continuum of care, from acute care in the hospital to social care in the community."
In the city of Reading, about 36 per cent of households with people aged 65 and over receive SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits, formerly known as food stamps. In Berks County, about 10 percent of residents (nearly 43,000 people) are considered food insecure.
For more details on these findings, download the full report. To learn more about how WellSky is helping communities address SDoH and improve health and wellbeing interventions, visit wellsky.com.
About WellSky®
WellSky is one of America's largest and most innovative health technology companies, leading the movement for intelligent, coordinated care. Our proven software, analytics and services drive better outcomes and lower costs for stakeholders across the healthcare and community care continuum. In today's value-based care environment, WellSky helps providers, payers, healthcare systems and community organizations scale processes, improve collaboration for growth, harness the power of data analytics and achieve better outcomes by further connecting clinical and social care. WellSky serves more than 20,000 customer locations – including the largest hospital systems, blood banks, cell therapy laboratories, home health care and hospice franchises, post-acute care providers, government agencies and human services organizations. WellSky has over 40 years of experience delivering software and expertise, anticipating customers' needs and relentlessly innovating to build healthy, thriving communities. Visit wellsky.com for more information.
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