Kaiser Permanente to Integrate Social Services Matching Tool into EHR
This summer Kaiser Permanente will launch Thrive Local, a platform that will allow providers and caregivers to match an individual's social needs with the appropriate services from within a network of nonprofit, public and private resources.
Kaiser Permanente, the nation's largest nonprofit, integrated health system, is partnering with a company called Unite Us to connect healthcare and social services providers to address the pressing social needs including housing, food, safety, utilities and more for millions of people across the United States.
Recent data indicates that in certain regions, up to 29 percent of Kaiser Permanente's members that have the greatest medical challenges are dealing with food insecurity, and as many as 23 percent have concerns about housing stability – critical issues that are among the types of challenges that Thrive Local will seek to address.
"Where and how people live, work and play drive more than half of health outcomes. To address total health, we, as physicians, need systems and networks that address our patients' social needs," said Imelda Dacones, M.D., president and chief executive officer, Northwest Permanente, in a statement. "Healthcare in this country must continue to evolve — from acute episodic care, to an integrated coordinated system focused on prevention and coordinated care management. This tool will accelerate our evolution as a sector to next-generation care delivery — a community-integrated model that connects physicians, our patients and health care systems to community resources that address our patients' socioeconomic needs."
In addition to being integrated into Kaiser Permanente's electronic health record system, Thrive Local's network of resources will also be made available to community-based organizations to efficiently reach the broadest possible group of those in need. The network will track community partner referrals and service outcomes to measure the degree to which participants' needs are met – gathering data to continuously improve service delivery and better address community conditions for health.
"By integrating this network into our clinical care, our members with unmet social needs will be connected to community services more efficiently," said Bechara Choucair, M.D., chief community health officer, Kaiser Permanente, in a prepared statement. "In addition, Thrive Local will be open to community health centers and community-based organizations to improve social health access for the entire community."
The Thrive Local network will start rolling out summer 2019. Within three years, it will be available to all of Kaiser Permanente's 12.3 million members and the 68 million people in the communities Kaiser Permanente serves.
Kaiser’s partner, Unite Us, is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Raleigh and Portland. It offers a care coordination and outcome-tracking platform connecting healthcare and social service providers. In March 2019 it announced $35 million in Series B funding. Started in 2013 to serve the needs of the military-connected population, Unite Us expanded its offering to coordinate care and social services for vulnerable populations including Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries, the homeless, justice-involved individuals and populations with behavioral health and substance use challenges.
In one example of its work, The Utah Alliance for the Determinants of Health, a community collaborative convened and funded by Intermountain Healthcare, recently chose Unite Us as the technology platform that will power the Utah Alliance’s coordinated care network, which will connect people in need with the healthcare and social service providers who can best help them.
