Q: What is something that is no one’s responsibility, and at the same time everyone’s responsibility?
A: Social Determinants of Health
I recently heard a colleague say this and it struck me as a powerful statement.
- If a patient is lonely, whose responsibility is it?
- If a patient doesn’t have transportation to a doctor’s appointment, whose responsibility is it?
- If a patient can’t afford nutritious food or their medications, whose responsibility is it?
Social determinants of health are defined as the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes, and yet no one on the healthcare team bears responsibility for them.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is working to change that.
CMS recently released the Health Equity Index Reward that will take effect for the 2027 Star Ratings.
While that may seem far away, it’s important today because the 2027 Star Ratings measure performance in 2024 and 2025.
What we do today affects our future payment.
The Joint Commission also established standards in 2023 that require hospitals to address health care disparities for every patient, so this issue spans all of the pharmacy landscape.
Next week we’re providing a live CE panel discussion on the Health Equity Index.
It is critical that we make it OUR responsibility to address social determinants of health.
As always, have a great week and keep learning!
Jen
1. SAVE THE DATE – LIVE CE for Pharmacists and Technicians!
Beyond Measure: Expert Discussion on the Health Equity Index
Wednesday, March 13th 7:00pm CST
During this LIVE CE panel discussion, we will cover the fundamental concepts of health equity and social determinants of health (SDoH) and why this topic is critical to all members of the pharmacy team. Pharmacists and technicians are guaranteed to leave this discussion with actionable strategies to mitigate disparities, enhance access, and improve outcomes. This is going to be a CE you don’t want to miss!
2. Community Health Worker Training
If you’re ready to impact SDOH, train one of your technicians to be a Community Health Worker (CHW).
Over the past two years, CEimpact has trained over 500 pharmacy technicians as Pharmacy-Based CHWs and they’re making an impact. Not only for patients and their pharmacies, but also for their quality of life and professional satisfaction. Being in a helping profession and actually “helping” is rewarding!
At a time when it’s hard to find and keep technicians, this is a small investment to engage and retain them at your pharmacy.
3. White House News: The PBM Discussion
The White House held a Roundtable on Lowering Healthcare Costs and Bringing Transparency to Prescription Drug Middlemen last week.
It features powerful comments from the following people and is a great watch as we attempt to address medication access and cost issue affecting pharmacy and most importantly, patients.
- Linda Khan, Federal Trade Commission
- Governor Andy Beshear, Governor of Kentucky
- Dared Price, Price Pharmacist and Oread Rx
- Chichi Ilonzo Momah, Springfield Pharmacy
- Mark Cuban, Cost Plus Drug Company
- Alex Oshmyansky, Cost Plus Drug Company
- Sandra Clarke, Blue Shield of California
