Primary Care Teams Test New Tool to Prescribe Referrals for Community Health and Social Services
Family physicians provide the majority of health care for underserved rural and urban populations in the U.S. and treat a more diverse population of patients than any other medical specialty. They have an important role to play in helping to mitigate health inequities by connecting patients to community-based wellness and self-care resources such as food and nutrition supports, weight management and smoking cessation to support them in preventing and managing cardiovascular disease.
CommunityRx-H3 is a practice-level, customizable community resource referral system that uses evidence-based algorithms to auto-generate a list of community resources to address such needs. This study evaluated the implementation of CommunityRx-H3 through the perspective of primary care practice facilitators.
This study found that practice facilitators can play a key role in implementing quality improvement initiatives like CommunityRx-H3. However, it also underscores the importance of support from an engaged practice leadership to address such barriers as: limited time, lack of staff, staff apathy, material resources (e.g., printers and paper) and lack of integration between a community resource referral system and the practice's EMR system.
Implementation of Community-Based Resource Referrals for Cardiovascular Disease Self-Management
Emily Abramsohn, MPH, et al
The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
https://www.annfammed.org/content/18/6/511
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Journal
The Annals of Family Medicine