New FMT Policy Brief: CAH Perspectives on Collection and Use of Demographic and Social Drivers of Health Data

October 29, 2024

New FMT Policy Brief: CAH Perspectives on Collection and Use of Demographic and Social Drivers of Health Data

The Flex Monitoring Team (FMT) recently released a new policy brief, CAH Perspectives on Collection and Use of Demographic and Social Drivers of Health Data. The brief explores the experiences of nine Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), in collecting and using demographic and/or social drivers of health (SDOH) data.

Challenges faced by CAHs during data collection:

  • Interviewee discomfort
  • Difficulty offering patient resources
  • Logistical or technical challenges
  • Limited staff capacity
  • Other broad challenges

Despite these challenges, CAHs described being able to use the demographic and/or SDOH data in various ways:

  • For individual patient needs
  • To assess community characteristics and needs
  • To assess health outcomes and utilization
  • To create or leverage partnerships
  • To plan for expanding data collection

Staff training, involvement with community partnerships, and collaboration with State Flex Programs will facilitate the best and standard practices of demographic and/or SDOH data collection, as well as data usage for CAHs.

Click Here to view policy brief