Physician practices are increasingly screening for social risks such as housing instability; however, less than 3 in 10 conduct these screenings regularly, according to a new study.
Public health researchers analyzed data from 2017 and 2022 to determine whether physician practices systematically screened patients for five common social risks. These risks include interpersonal violence, transportation needs, food insecurity, housing instability and utility needs.
In 2017, 15% of U.S. physician practices regularly screened for all five risk factors. In 2022, that figure increased to 27%, according to findings published Jan. 3 in JAMA.
When broken down by individual social risks in 2022, 61% of practices screened for interpersonal violence, 47% for food insecurity, 44% for housing instability, 35% for transportation needs and 34% for utility needs.
While social risk screenings are becoming more common in primary care practices, fewer than one-third regularly conduct these screenings. The researchers recommend primary care practices foster innovative cultures to allocate time and resources to expand screening efforts.