ICD-10 Z-Code Health-Related Social Needs and Increased Healthcare Utilization

A December 2 article in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine co-authored by Philip M. Alberti, PhD, founding director of the AAMC Center for Health Justice, explores how work to date to identify health-related social needs remains limited, despite evidence that they are known drivers of health and health outcomes. The study found that patients with documented health-related social needs had four times the negative health events and more than nine times the total annual costs compared to those who did not have diagnosed social needs. Trends of increased negative health events and costs were seen across all 14 conditions examined that are the leading causes of mortality and economic costs.