ONC has released a Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Information Exchange Toolkit to support communities working toward achieving health equity through SDOH data sharing.

The national SDOH data landscape continues to evolve as healthcare organizations develop and adopt standards for SDOH information. Ensuring organizations capture and exchange SDOH data in a standardized way is critical to initiatives that address health inequities…

The toolkit outlines the following as foundational elements of SDOH information exchange:

• Community Readiness and Stewardship: Initiatives should assess the existing landscape of the population or geographic area to understand the ability and willingness of the community to participate in SDOH information exchange. Projects should develop shared responsibilities through co-design, evaluation, and decision-making.
• Mission and Purpose: Initiatives should have a statement encompassing the vision, scope of services, and expected project benefits.
• Values and Principles: SDOH data exchange should include standards for establishing a framework for action, including ethical decision-making to support health equity.
• Policy: Projects should consider federal, state, and local policy levers to advance SDOH data interoperability, as well as collaboration with relevant stakeholders in the community, region, or state… Read the full article here.