Promising Practices

An increased level of health for all Americans is key to the promotion of thriving lives, economies, and communities. Current reform efforts to lower costs and promote value in the health care system are rewarding value over volume and emphasizing prevention and care coordination in the optimal balance with treatment. However, improving health will require more than even the best performing medical system because disease rates and costs cannot change by action solely within the walls of hospitals and clinics.

Addressing non-medical health drivers will require innovative, comprehensive solutions from the public and private sector. Today, the private and public health care markets are embracing the opportunity to improve health by piloting new value-based payment and delivery models, digital and data platforms, and community improvement strategies that address and incorporate upstream indicators of health.

The information below is intended to provide existing resources and best practices that can be leveraged to address the social determinants of health. The resources included on this page are not an exhaustive nor endorsed list. We have initially drawn heavily on work our members are directly familiar with, but this is intended to be illustrative of a broad and evolving body of work in the community rather than exhaustive accounting of work in the field. Please visit nasdoh.org over time as we continue to update as the field evolves.