Social Needs Screenings in ED

Implementation Barriers to Social Needs Screenings in Routine Emergency Care

This study will determine whether existing Health Information Technology can be leveraged to 1) implement a universal, patient-centered social needs assessment and referral process during routine Emergency Department care; 2) understand whether linking social needs assessment, community based referral, and health outcomes data may facilitate an understanding of population health; and 3) address the needs and wishes of patients and clinicians.

Hypothesis: Results of this study will provide much needed information to already overburdened hospital systems regarding whether systematically incorporating social needs information and referrals into emergency discharge processes allows for a better understanding of factors placing patients at risk for poor outcomes post-discharge, and whether doing so has potential for enhancing discharge support for a larger patient population seen in emergency departments.

Inclusion Criteria:

• seen in the UHealth University hospital ED
• ability to use touchpad technology
• ability to communicate via telephone for 211 follow-up

Exclusion Criteria:

• Non-English and non-Spanish speaking (English nor Spanish need not be the 1st language)
• unable to communicate verbally
• admitted to an inpatient unit or to a skilled nursing facility (vs discharged to a community-based setting where participants are responsible for their own self-care)