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Caroline Catherman

Healthcare Brew covers pharmaceutical developments, health startups, the latest tech, and how it impacts hospitals and providers to keep administrators and providers informed.

Healthcare Brew delivers the latest news and trends in healthcare.

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Healthcare Brew

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Healthcare Brew is a newsletter that delivers the latest news and analysis of trends shaping the healthcare industry.

Explore short-term plans, farm bureau plans, and health sharing: how they work, who they serve, legal gaps they exploit, and the risks tied to limited coverage and protections.

Uninsured by design: The rise of nontraditional health coverage in the US

Morning Brew Staff

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Tariffs bring economic shifts, affecting many industries. Read this e-book to understand their sweeping impact across the healthcare, tech, retail, finance, and IT industries.

Tariffs: Understanding the impact

Maia Anderson

HCBR-Social determinants of health audio embed

Going to the doctor regularly is important, but it turns out getting there is not the biggest factor determining a patient’s overall health.

—nonclinical and environmental factors including race, gender, ethnicity, housing status, and income level—can play a bigger role in a person’s health than access to healthcare or genetics, according to the CDC. In fact, they account for about 30% to 55% of someone’s health outcomes, according to the World Health Organization, and environmental factors may account for up to 90% of diseases, according to the CDC.

And while the connection between some SDOHs and their effect on health are relatively clear, there are numerous other factors that may be less obvious.

For example, it’s not hard to imagine a lower-income patient avoiding going to the doctor due to concerns about paying medical bills. But education, social capital, and stress levels are also major factors contributing to health, experts say.

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There are two main ways education affects health, Prince Michael Amegbor, assistant professor of global and environmental health at New York University, told Healthcare Brew.

First, more formal education is often correlated with higher income in the US, he said. People with higher incomes in the US are more likely to be insured and 

 to worry about accumulating medical debt—13.4% of people with annual household incomes under $25,000 were uninsured in 2022, compared to 3.4% of people with annual household incomes over $75,000, according to 

Second, people with a higher education level are 

 to engage in healthier activities, like getting yearly check-ups, exercising, and eating nutritious meals, according to Amegbor.

“The assumption is that educated people often have the knowledge and information available to them to engage in preventive health behavior,” he said.

Another important SDOH is social capital, Amegbor said, which comes in two forms: cognitive and structural. A 2021 study from Chongqing University in China analyzed data from China and found that “cognitive and structural social capital can significantly promote individual health.”

Cognitive social capital refers to someone’s emotional connections with others, while structural social capital refers to their social networks, he said.

“These networks play a very important role in the sense that often they can be a vital resource or asset in terms of your health,” Amegbor said.

For instance, when a patient is going through a health crisis, having a social network gives them both emotional and material support, which can help improve their recovery, he said.

Cognitive social capital also refers to how safe that patient feels in their community. If they don’t feel safe in their neighborhood, for example, they may isolate, which raises the risk of depression and other mental health disorders or could lead them to avoid exercise, according to Amegbor.

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In addition to education and social structure, the 

 a person experiences is a significant SDOH, according to Rachel Donnelly, an assistant professor of sociology at Vanderbilt University who specializes in SDOH research.

Most people experience stress, but some are more likely to experience stress 

. For example, those who work in industries with high levels of job insecurity often stress over potentially losing employment, she said. And people with lower incomes may be under

 over things like food and housing security.

Stress has both a physical and psychological 

, according to Donnelly, as it causes the body to release hormones like adrenaline and cortisol that can be damaging over time. Chronic stress can lead to hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, and arthritis, according to 

“If I stress every single day about making ends meet, then that high level of activation biologically starts taking a toll on all sorts of systems in our body, like cardiovascular functioning, immune functioning,” Donnelly said. “It just totally sends the body haywire.”

Clinicians can play an important role in combating the negative effects SDOHs may have on their patients’ health, both experts said.

For instance, they can ask patients about their housing status and food security, and put them in touch with community resources if needed, according to Donnelly.

Providers can also educate themselves on racial biases that may affect how they treat patients, Amegbor said. For example, 

 that Black women are less likely to receive pain medications during birth, and Black patients are 

 pain medication in general due to racist misconceptions that they feel pain differently than white patients, according to Amegbor.

“Having more education and awareness can, at the facility level, mitigate some of the discrimination and also improve 

But combatting the effects of SDOHs requires broader structural change, according to Amegbor. Federal policies would need to be put in place to ensure people of all income levels have access to a quality education or to create equitable housing programs, for example.

“It requires a multiskill approach if you want to address the social determinants of health from the individual to the higher levels, like the federal government,” Amegbor said.

Healthcare cross overlaid with stylized images of a briefcase, graduation cap, stack of money, and an apartment

How social determinants of health play a role in patient health

Numerous social factors like race, income, and education level can influence a patient’s overall health.

How social determinants play a critical role in patient health 

Supercharge your knowledge with content that closely examines industry challenges and solutions.

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“Our technology can automate a lot of the clerical work that crushes my soul at night as a cardiologist.”

–Shivdev Rao, co-founder of Abridge 

The tech platform summarizes patient interactions and helps reduce clinicians' administrative burden.

How Abridge uses generative AI to reduce clinician burnout

51% of healthcare consumers now view their health plan as a “partner” in their care, rather than just a “payer” of medical bills. The HealthEdge® 

 explores what members want from their health plans—and how health plans can evolve to meet consumer expectations.

Here’s a peek at what consumers reported:

78% of respondents use or plan to use mobile health plan apps.

64% of respondents are open to trying AI-powered healthcare tools, but many are concerned about privacy and security.

42% of respondents list monthly premiums or out-of-pocket costs as reasons to stay or leave a health plan.

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Calm

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Allergy and autoimmune diseases have been trending upward year after year, placing immense pressure on laboratories to optimize their immunology diagnostic testing services. To meet rising demand, labs have to be in tip-top shape—as in they gotta maintain peak efficiency and productivity while ensuring top-quality offerings to protect their reputation, retain business, and safeguard patient health. It’s a lot easier said than done.

In a new case study involving Geisinger Medical Center, the adoption of Phadia™ Laboratory Systems improved lab workflow efficiency for autoimmune and allergic disease testing. They enhanced their workflows, slashed waste and costs, and improved their autoimmune and allergy diagnostic offerings.

It’s chock-full of helpful data, strategies, and info on how you can level up your lab.

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