– 85% say unmet social needs are directly leading to worse health
– 85% say patients’ social needs are as important to address as their medical conditions
– 80% say they are not confident in their capacity to address their patients’ social needs

The physicians reported that if they had the power to write prescriptions to address social needs, such prescriptions would represent 1 out of every 7 they write. This study clearly illustrates that we cannot fix America’s overwhelming health concerns such as obesity, heart disease, respiratory disease, and diabetes without also addressing social concerns that play a factor.

Health Care’s Blind Side demonstrates why programs like Help Me Grow can be vitally important to bridging the gap between health concerns and social needs. A Help Me Grow care coordinator can spend time identifying a child’s physical needs and make appropriate referrals, and can also get an idea of a family’s possible social needs and help make connections to relevant services. While a Help Me Grow care coordinator’s priority is to address a child’s needs, we know that typically cannot be accomplished separate from the needs of the family. Help Me Grow and other partners are working to progressively address concerns of the health care system’s blind side.