Executive Summary

The steady rise of value-based reimbursement models, high rates of chronic disease, and widening health disparities are leading healthcare payers and providers to broaden the scope of health-influencing factors they address to include social determinants of health (SDOH), such as access to transportation and nutritious food. Digital health developers and tech companies are jumping on the opportunity by building platforms and devices to help healthcare incumbents effectively capture and analyze SDOH data so they’re equipped to connect patients with proper resources.

Three Questions This Report Will Answer

• What factors are driving more US providers and insurers to launch efforts addressing SDOH?
• Where are there opportunities for tech companies to assist in healthcare’s tackling of SDOH, and how have some successfully done so?
• How has the pandemic affected traditional healthcare players’ need and ability to address SDOH?

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? This report explains the rise of tech-focused SDOH initiatives among US health insurers and hospitals, unpacks how these entities’ heavier focus on SDOH has ushered in opportunities for digital health vendors and tech companies operating at the periphery of healthcare to help address nonclinical health gaps, and lays out the factors driving the prioritization of SDOH and inhibiting these efforts’ growth. 

KEY STAT: A February 2020 survey from healthcare technology company Change Healthcare conducted by consulting firm InsightDynamo found that 93% and 95% of US payers and hospitals, respectively, capture SDOH when interacting with patients, and there are many diverse factors they collect data on. But translating this data into usable insights is difficult.