ONC: 60% of Americans Comfortable with SDOH Information Sharing

While the majority of Americans are comfortable with social determinants of health (SDOH) information sharing for treatment purposes, four in 10 individuals nationwide report some level of unease with this type of data exchange, according to ONC data.

SDOH data exchange is key for improving population health, with factors such as housing, food and nutrition, transportation, and education accounting for up to 50 percent of county-level variation in health outcomes.

Encouragingly, ONC found that individuals’ recent experiences with social needs did not significantly impact their rate of comfort with SDOH information sharing by providers for treatment purposes.

Those who reported experiencing SDOH in the past 12 months indicated they were comfortable with providers sharing their data for treatment purposes at similar rates to those who did not experience these needs.

However, ONC observed differences in comfort with SDOH data sharing by individuals’ recent experiences with the healthcare system.

Comfort with each kind of SDOH data sharing (food issues, housing issues, and transportation issues) was significantly lower among individuals who reported receiving average or poor care quality compared to those who felt they received very good or excellent quality of care.

Additionally, comfort with SDOH information sharing was also relatively low among Americans who reported little or no trust in the healthcare system and among those who experienced discrimination when receiving medical care, but for fewer social needs.

“Notably, comfort with providers sharing housing concerns was significantly lower among those who received average or poor quality of care, had little or no trust in the healthcare system, and experienced discrimination,” ONC officials wrote in a HealthITBuzz blog post.