(The Center Square) – In addition to doctor visits and medical procedures, rural health care organizations are now assisting patients with transportation, food, housing, dental and mental health care, according to research from the University of Missouri.
Transportation assistance is provided by 100% of the health care organizations interviewed by the university, according to the paper, “Practice perspectives on care coordination in rural settings,” published in Professional Case Management. The study found 86% provide support or referrals for mental health care, 79% provide food assistance, 71% provide housing assistance and 50% provide dental assistance.
The research was possible by an award of $12.1 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration. The University of Missouri received $5 million from that award for its research.
Julie Kapp, an associate professor in the University of Missouri College of Health Sciences, said when the Affordable Care Act was implemented in 2010, it forced health care organizations to transition from focusing on patient volume to outcome-based evaluations.
“That’s what’s driving these changes,” Kapp said in an interview with The Center Square. “In some ways, there will be more accountability for outcomes and for people to be healthy. They’re recognizing the connection between having food on the table or transportation to the doctor.”
The extra assistance isn’t limited to rural areas. SSM Health, one of the largest health care systems in the nation with several hospitals in the St. Louis metro area, will be giving two days of meals to discharged patients who qualify for assistance, according to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The researchers interviewed representatives from 14 health care organizations for the project. Nine of the 14 organizations were in rural settings. Information was gathered on the organization’s adherence to completing 10 essential characteristics for properly coordinated care, a common standard throughout health care.
“This wasn’t a policy paper and we didn’t look into cost,” Kapp said. “We didn’t look at implications or make recommendations for changes. … At a very high level, the Affordable Care Act drove some of these changes. We’re seeing this downstream from a decade ago or so. But we didn’t look at specifics on policy.”
Kapp said health care organizations overcame many challenges during the pandemic to ensure patients remained healthy.
“COVID was a big problem for people in getting access to food,” Kapp said. “One of the organizations we interviewed said they worked with a food bank to make sure food was delivered. Food was dropped off at the door so there wasn’t any contact. That’s not something we think health care would provide, but that shows what they’re doing for patients.”