A New Type of Health Screening: How It Can Improve Your Health

“What is your housing situation today? Are you worried about losing it?” “In the past 12 months, has lack of reliable transportation kept you from medical appointments, meetings, work or from getting things needed for daily living?” “How often do you feel lonely or isolated from those around you?” Most people don’t think of these as medical questions. But just like doctors check a patient’s pulse, blood pressure and medical history, or take X-rays for broken bones, social needs can be vital signs. Cedars-Sinai’s Community Connect Program, which launched in August 2021, is carving a path for hospitals to implement this new type of diagnostic screening. Living conditions such as poverty, unstable housing, violence and loneliness can determine whether a patient is able to take medications they’re prescribed, understand their care and get—and stay—well long-term. Social factors are responsible for up to 90% of a community’s health, according to a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, a far greater impact than genetics and even medical care (20%). In turn, vulnerability is linked to a wide range of serious illnesses including cancer, dementia, heart disease and stroke, worse quality of life, more hospitalizations and early death. “If someone’s worried...