Current medical practices focus on collecting data from the patient required for documenting health records to produce claim data.  This information only provides a partial view of a person and even further segments the data based on organization.  Hospitals, Health services and doctors know more about the person’s medical history and biometrics such as height or weight.  Insurance companies know the claim data presented from patients seeking services.  They are missing the biometric data to get a more complete picture of the health of the member.

In both cases, neither group providers or payers have a holistic picture of a patients health.  In order to create a patient 360.  You must collect additional information that claims systems or EHR systems are not configured to collect.  What is happening to the patient daily in their environment and livelihood.  Do they have stable housing, food, or transportation?  Do they have a support network that is reliable?  This level of detail is what makes social determinants of health data critical to collect.  Only when you have complete 360 view of a patient can you better understand their situation and work to partner with local organizations to improve outcomes.