Doctors and nurses routinely encounter patients struggling with food insecurity, housing instability and other non-medical needs that contribute to poor health. Without a system in place, they have no reliable way to connect the patient to social help outside the hospital. When a need arises, the market is often quick to step in with a solution — in this case, coordinated care networks that provide a direct connection between healthcare providers, patients and social services.
Tools that connect healthcare providers, patients and community-based organizations are growing. Healthcare providers use these systems to connect with social services, which in turn connect with the patient. These platforms help facilitate access to social services by providing healthcare providers with a tool to contact social services, which, in turn, reach out to the patient. The goal is to reduce healthcare demand by addressing the underlying causes of poor health.
They also generate data that helps identify patients at risk for health or social crises. Integrating social services into the health system has the potential to increase the quality of life and overall health of Americans, often through less costly preventive interventions.
Many of the factors that determine a person’s health are social, not strictly medical, such as access to food, housing and transportation. These conditions shape a person’s ability to manage chronic illness, recover from treatment, or access care in the first place. A patient recovering from an illness who lacks stable housing or healthy food is far more likely to have complications in their recovery. Barriers to transportation can prevent follow-up visits or even prevent people from getting to the pharmacy. Addressing these social factors is essential for many elderly and low-income patients.
Networking platforms help address these needs by connecting patients to the services that support their well-being. They do this by maintaining partnerships across healthcare and social service providers, enabling access to food assistance, utility aid, income support and housing programs. Through these systems, doctors can easily refer patients to the appropriate medical or social service providers as needs arise.
As demand for more integrated services grows, companies like Unite Us, findhelp, WellSky and more have developed platforms to fill the gap. So far, results from several Unite Us studies have been positive. In one case, the platform was used to connect new mothers with social support, leading to reduced postpartum healthcare needs. Another postpartum study found that increased support — including social services — helped reduce stress and improve the mental health of new parents.
These systems benefit more than new parents. In Tennessee, Ballad Health helped more than 600 people access support just over a year after launching. One study showed that Ballad reduced emergency department visits by 25 percent among patients with social needs and by 16 percent overall. This translates into $68.80 in savings per patient monthly — more than $825 annually — from emergency visits alone.
The benefits have been evident in rural communities. Ballad Health serves rural Tennessee and Virginia, where access to services is often limited.
Missouri’s Transformation of Rural Community Health program, Pennsylvania’s PA navigate, and similar initiatives are helping rural populations connect with social services by integrating those supports with the healthcare system.
This preventive care increases individuals’ well-being and reduces pressure on an already strained healthcare system, which is strained by an aging population with growing needs. Networking services are a practical market-based way to facilitate the holistic approach healthcare has taken in recent years.
These services are beneficial for lower-income patients who may lack access to basic needs. For elderly patients, it simplifies access to support. In rural areas, where service providers are often few and far between, these networks may be the only way patients discover that help exists.
Building a healthier, more equitable, and more sustainable healthcare system requires treating social care not as an add-on but as a core component of health. Networking platforms offer the infrastructure to do just that — bridging gaps between medical care and the everyday realities that shape people’s lives.
Connecting people to the social services they need won’t just reduce costs; it will give them a shot at a healthier and more stable life. That’s a return worth investing in.