Understanding Social Needs and Their Importance for Population Health

Social needs reflect known, pressing needs with immediate health impact at the patient level. The ACG^®, System Social Needs Markers were developed to give users a complete view of social needs in their member populations. This wider population view enables visibility into frequency of need and the relationship of these needs to health outcomes, insight that enables development of care improvement programs and community interventions.

EIham Hatef, MD, assistant professor of Health Policy and Management at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, explains how organizations can benefit from social needs functionality to support their goal of building a healthier community.