Skip to main content

Main menu

  • HOME
  • ARTICLES
    • Current Issue
    • Ahead of Print
    • Archives
    • Abstracts In Press
    • Special Issue Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • INFO FOR
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Call For Papers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • SUBMIT
    • Manuscript
    • Peer Review
  • ABOUT
    • The JABFM
    • The Editing Fellowship
    • Editorial Board
    • Indexing
    • Editors' Blog
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • Other Publications
    • abfm

User menu

  • Log out

Search

  • Advanced search
American Board of Family Medicine
  • Other Publications
    • abfm
  • Log out
American Board of Family Medicine

American Board of Family Medicine

Advanced Search

  • HOME
  • ARTICLES
    • Current Issue
    • Ahead of Print
    • Archives
    • Abstracts In Press
    • Special Issue Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • INFO FOR
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Call For Papers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • SUBMIT
    • Manuscript
    • Peer Review
  • ABOUT
    • The JABFM
    • The Editing Fellowship
    • Editorial Board
    • Indexing
    • Editors' Blog
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • JABFM on Bluesky
  • JABFM On Facebook
  • JABFM On Twitter
  • JABFM On YouTube
Research ArticleOriginal Research

Developing Electronic Health Record (EHR) Strategies Related to Health Center Patients' Social Determinants of Health

Rachel Gold, Erika Cottrell, Arwen Bunce, Mary Middendorf, Celine Hollombe, Stuart Cowburn, Peter Mahr and Gerardo Melgar
The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine July 2017, 30 (4) 428-447; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3122/jabfm.2017.04.170046
Rachel Gold
From the Center for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Portland, OR (RG, AB, CH); OCHIN, Inc., Portland (RG, EC, MM, SC); the Multnomah County Health Department, Portland (PM); and the Cowlitz Family Health Center, Longview, WA (GM).
PhD, MPH
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Erika Cottrell
From the Center for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Portland, OR (RG, AB, CH); OCHIN, Inc., Portland (RG, EC, MM, SC); the Multnomah County Health Department, Portland (PM); and the Cowlitz Family Health Center, Longview, WA (GM).
PhD, MPP
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Arwen Bunce
From the Center for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Portland, OR (RG, AB, CH); OCHIN, Inc., Portland (RG, EC, MM, SC); the Multnomah County Health Department, Portland (PM); and the Cowlitz Family Health Center, Longview, WA (GM).
MA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Mary Middendorf
From the Center for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Portland, OR (RG, AB, CH); OCHIN, Inc., Portland (RG, EC, MM, SC); the Multnomah County Health Department, Portland (PM); and the Cowlitz Family Health Center, Longview, WA (GM).
BS
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Celine Hollombe
From the Center for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Portland, OR (RG, AB, CH); OCHIN, Inc., Portland (RG, EC, MM, SC); the Multnomah County Health Department, Portland (PM); and the Cowlitz Family Health Center, Longview, WA (GM).
MPH
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Stuart Cowburn
From the Center for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Portland, OR (RG, AB, CH); OCHIN, Inc., Portland (RG, EC, MM, SC); the Multnomah County Health Department, Portland (PM); and the Cowlitz Family Health Center, Longview, WA (GM).
MPH
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Peter Mahr
From the Center for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Portland, OR (RG, AB, CH); OCHIN, Inc., Portland (RG, EC, MM, SC); the Multnomah County Health Department, Portland (PM); and the Cowlitz Family Health Center, Longview, WA (GM).
MD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Gerardo Melgar
From the Center for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Portland, OR (RG, AB, CH); OCHIN, Inc., Portland (RG, EC, MM, SC); the Multnomah County Health Department, Portland (PM); and the Cowlitz Family Health Center, Longview, WA (GM).
MD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Background: “Social determinants of heath” (SDHs) are nonclinical factors that profoundly affect health. Helping community health centers (CHCs) document patients' SDH data in electronic health records (EHRs) could yield substantial health benefits, but little has been reported about CHCs' development of EHR-based tools for SDH data collection and presentation.

Methods: We worked with 27 diverse CHC stakeholders to develop strategies for optimizing SDH data collection and presentation in their EHR, and approaches for integrating SDH data collection and the use of those data (eg, through referrals to community resources) into CHC workflows.

Results: We iteratively developed a set of EHR-based SDH data collection, summary, and referral tools for CHCs. We describe considerations that arose while developing the tools and present some preliminary lessons learned.

Conclusion: Standardizing SDH data collection and presentation in EHRs could lead to improved patient and population health outcomes in CHCs and other care settings. We know of no previous reports of processes used to develop similar tools. This article provides an example of 1 such process. Lessons from our process may be useful to health care organizations interested in using EHRs to collect and act on SDH data. Research is needed to empirically test the generalizability of these lessons.

  • Community Health Centers
  • Data Collection
  • Electronic Health Records
  • Primary Health Care
  • Referral and Consultation
  • Social Determinants of Health
View Full Text
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

The Journal of the American Board of Family     Medicine: 30 (4)
The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
Vol. 30, Issue 4
July-August 2017
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Cover (PDF)
  • Index by author
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Board of Family Medicine.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Developing Electronic Health Record (EHR) Strategies Related to Health Center Patients' Social Determinants of Health
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Board of Family Medicine
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Board of Family Medicine web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
9 + 8 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Citation Tools
Developing Electronic Health Record (EHR) Strategies Related to Health Center Patients' Social Determinants of Health
Rachel Gold, Erika Cottrell, Arwen Bunce, Mary Middendorf, Celine Hollombe, Stuart Cowburn, Peter Mahr, Gerardo Melgar
The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine Jul 2017, 30 (4) 428-447; DOI: 10.3122/jabfm.2017.04.170046

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Developing Electronic Health Record (EHR) Strategies Related to Health Center Patients' Social Determinants of Health
Rachel Gold, Erika Cottrell, Arwen Bunce, Mary Middendorf, Celine Hollombe, Stuart Cowburn, Peter Mahr, Gerardo Melgar
The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine Jul 2017, 30 (4) 428-447; DOI: 10.3122/jabfm.2017.04.170046
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Methods
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Acknowledgments
    • Notes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • Variation in monitoring: Glucose measurement in the ICU as a case study to preempt spurious correlations
  • Implementation of Social Isolation Screening and an Integrated Community Resource Referral Platform
  • Food Insecurity Screening in Safety-Net Clinics in Los Angeles County: Lessons for Post-Pandemic Planning
  • Food Insecurity Screening in Safety-Net Clinics in Los Angeles County: Lessons for Post-Pandemic Planning
  • Mise en {oelig}uvre dinterventions sociales en soins de sante primaires
  • Implementing social interventions in primary care
  • Using ICD-10-based Social Determinants of Health Categories to Assess Patients Risk for Acute Care Utilization
  • A Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN) Roadmap for Evaluating COVID-19 in Community Health Centers: A Report From the OCHIN PBRN
  • The Impact of Social and Clinical Complexity on Diabetes Control Measures
  • Primary Care Is an Essential Ingredient to a Successful Population Health Improvement Strategy
  • Adoption of Social Determinants of Health EHR Tools by Community Health Centers
  • Living in "Cold Spot" Communities Is Associated with Poor Health and Health Quality
  • In This Issue: Opiates, Tobacco, Social Determinants of Health, Social Accountability for Non-Profit Hospitals, More on PCMH, and Clinical Topics
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Identifying and Addressing Social Determinants of Health with an Electronic Health Record
  • Integrating Adverse Childhood Experiences and Social Risks Screening in Adult Primary Care
  • A Pilot Comparison of Clinical Data Collection Methods Using Paper, Electronic Health Record Prompt, and a Smartphone Application
Show more Original Research

Similar Articles

Keywords

  • Community Health Centers
  • Data Collection
  • Electronic Health Records
  • Primary Health Care
  • Referral and Consultation
  • Social Determinants of Health

Navigate

  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues

Authors & Reviewers

  • Info For Authors
  • Info For Reviewers
  • Submit A Manuscript/Review

Other Services

  • Get Email Alerts
  • Classifieds
  • Reprints and Permissions

Other Resources

  • Forms
  • Contact Us
  • ABFM News

© 2025 American Board of Family Medicine

Powered by HighWire