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Accelerating integration of social needs into mainstream healthcare to achieve health equity in the COVID-19 era

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2022

Aparna Kulkarni*
Affiliation:
Cohen Children's Medical Center, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/ Northwell, New Hyde Park, New York, USA
Melissa Davey-Rothwell
Affiliation:
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Elias Mossialos
Affiliation:
Department of Health Policy, London School of Economics, London, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: aparnapat@yahoo.com

Abstract

It is known that social inequities result in health disparities in outcomes, highlighted in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This commentary discusses the actionable initiatives that have been implemented to address social inequities in healthcare in the United States. The publicly available social needs screening tools and International Classification of Disease Systems-10 Z codes for social determinants of health are introduced. In this context, policies, health system strategies and the larger role of implementation science in recognizing and alleviating the social needs are discussed.

Type
Perspective
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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