HITEQ Health Center Social Needs Screening Star
In recent years, health centers have become increasingly interested in and charged with not only addressing the health concerns of their patients, but centering and responding to patient’s social needs. Identifying and addressing unmet social needs as part of the clinical encounter provides the opportunity to deliver higher-quality, whole-person care, advance population health, and reduce healthcare costs.Despite recent momentum in the area of social needs screening, implementation at community health centers continues to be varied and uneven, and many are looking for guidance from peers on how to screen for social needs and respond to positive screens.

This badge is designed to support health centers by outlining promising practices for implementing their social need screening programs. To implement an integrated screening program that produces high-quality data, health centers must utilize digital health solutions and leverage their electronic health record (EHR). The resources in this badge share examples of these solutions in practice, and are designed to equip health centers with the information necessary to implement a screening program that limits burden on staff, is meaningful for patients and their care, and advances population health.

Take some time to read through some of the articles on this page and then fill out the submission form on the right and you will be rewarded with a Health Center Social Needs Screening Superstar badge! This is an official badge that is submitted by the HITEQ Center as a proof of completion to the blockchain. Your credentials can be added to profiles such as LinkedIn and verified through accreditation services such as Accredible and Open Badge.

 

Interoperability Readiness Scorecard
Molly Rafferty
/ Categories: Achieving Meaningful Use, Promoting Interoperability

Interoperability Readiness Scorecard

HITEQ Center, July 2023

Many health centers struggle to reap the benefits of technological advancement and investments in health information technology (health IT), while others embrace them and reap rewards. Interoperability is one such example; requiring health centers assess systems, relationships, and implementation.

There are keys to successful interoperability implementation for which health centers must develop processes, stand up infrastructure (within the system, internally and externally, and organization), and then take action.

Process refers to structured processes, policies, and procedures within the health center.

Infrastructure refers to structural capacity and ability within the health center’s technology and staffing structure.

Action refers to full implementation to the point of active and ongoing use and engagement.

This scorecard encourages health centers to consider their processes, infrastructure, and action in a number of key areas. Each area key to interoperability are to be self-graded on a scale of 1 through 5, where 1 is poorly or not yet developed and 5 is well developed. Health centers can also use this to guide discussions and monitor progress over time.

Instructions:

  1. Review the score card as a whole. Address questions, such as those about terminology or that need internal background knowledge.
  2. Bring together a multi-disciplinary team, perhaps an existing data governance or improvement team, to discuss and complete the score card. You can do this on a computer by using the fillable PDF below, or on paper by using the printable PDF below. 
  3. Take the score card results, and use them to inform next steps. Re-evaluate once steps have been completed.

Download the resource in the Documents to Download Section below.

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Tags: Data Sharing and InteroperabilitydataPHISecurity Risk Analysisdata sharingdata exchangeSecurity Risk AssessmentProtected Health InformationinteroperabilityreadinessIT ReadinessData Systemdata integrationInteroperabiltysecurity riskssecurityrisktoolinformation blocking badge

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Related Resources

Badge Submission Form