Participant Feedback and Quotations on Theme 2, “the Benefit of Routine Screening for Health-Related Social Needs in Primary Care,” from Focus Groups Conducted from September to October 2022 in a Primary Care Setting at a Texas Academic Medical Center
| Subtheme | Quotation |
|---|---|
| Improved care team awareness of the patient's context | “Their health is important to them. But if they don’t have food to eat or they don’t have the transportation to get to that doctor’s appointment, that’s the concern at that moment.” |
| “Maybe there’s something else going on behind the scenes that is affecting their motivation or willingness to actually be compliant with their medications or seek care for themselves.” | |
| “It does, for me at least, affect how I process their care or how I prioritize the patient’s needs… I may not be able to fix your food insecurity. I may not be able to fix transportation. But then it does make me think, ‘Let’s do longer follow-ups. Is this someone that telemedicine would be an option for?’… Having that information is useful, even if I can’t 100% resolve the problem for them.” | |
| “I’m not here to just put a Band-Aid on your finger. We’re here to address everything.” | |
| Improved patient-care team relationships and communications | “Once I start kind of getting into a couple of questions, they start seeing the value in that, and then they kind of really open up. And then at the end of the visit – I love this part – and it’s like, ‘Wow, you guys really took care of me today!’” |
| “[Patients are] thrilled that you actually spent that time and actually show that you cared.” |