MercyOne and Phreesia Partner to Address Unmet Social Needs of Patients

MercyOne and Phreesia are celebrating an innovative initiative to evaluate and deliver resources to meet the needs of individuals in the communities we serve. Through its partnership with health care technology company Phreesia, MercyOne has streamlined the process for providing patients resources they need while improving the consumer experience.

As part of a longstanding dedication to convenient, personalized care, MercyOne health care providers look beyond patients’ physical health and evaluate how social needs such as personal safety, transportation, food and housing security affect their overall health and well-being. Traditional paper screenings can take considerable time and effort for clinical staff and patients.

MercyOne turned to Phreesia for a solution that removes the manual component by delivering the screening electronically and in advance of a patient’s appointment, integrating the patient’s answers directly into their electronic medical record and delivering results in real-time to the MercyOne care team.

“With Phreesia, patients are much more comfortable communicating their social needs and I believe this will make a big difference in the overall well-being and health of our communities and our ability to provide personalized care,” said MercyOne physician Timothy McCoy, DO, who provides family medicine care in Des Moines. “The platform’s automated capability to quickly capture social screening questions during the digital check-in process has been extremely helpful and greatly increases patient privacy.”

Having this information submitted by the patient makes it easier for MercyOne community health workers to prepare for patient visits and ensure better connection to resources that could support patients’ optimal health outcomes, including food pantries, federal and state programs, transportation programs, community-based organizations and more.

MercyOne began using Phreesia in September 2020 within its North Iowa and Central Iowa markets. Over the past year, MercyOne has conducted more than 35,000 social determinants of health screenings and identified that 18% of the patients screened had at least one unmet social need. Phreesia’s automated process ensures that those patients are not overlooked, and they receive the care and support they need.

“We’re so pleased to support MercyOne’s unwavering commitment to screen every patient, and it’s a privilege to partner with them to reach that goal together,” said Hilary Hatch, Ph.D., Phreesia’s Chief Clinical Officer. “By automating the screening process, more patients are sharing their unmet social needs and successfully getting connected with appropriate resources. These results are a testament to our shared mission of increasing health equity.”

Read our case study for more details.

About MercyOne

MercyOne is a connected system of health care facilities and services dedicated to helping people and communities live their best life. MercyOne’s care providers and staff make health the highest priority. The system’s clinics, medical centers, hospitals and affiliates are located throughout the state of Iowa and beyond. Headquartered in central Iowa, MercyOne was founded in 1998 through a collaboration between CommonSpirit Health and Trinity Health – two of the country’s foremost, not-for-profit Catholic health organizations.

About Phreesia

Phreesia gives healthcare organizations a suite of robust applications to manage the patient intake process. Our innovative SaaS platform engages patients in their healthcare and provides a modern, consistent experience, while enabling healthcare organizations to enhance clinical care and drive efficiency.

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