Social Determinants of Health – A View from Inside the Hospital

Neal Tyrrell, MD, is a Pediatric Hospitalist at UMass Memorial, responsible for the hospital’s quality improvement.  Building off of a case-based “Mortality & Morbidity” model of critical self-evaluation, Dr. Tyrrell will discuss a key gap between the theory and practice.  A growing body of literature identifies social determinants of health – like food, housing, education, employment – as central to good outcomes in medicine.  Yet our health system, as viewed from inside the hospital, remains markedly unable to account for these realities.  What policy interventions hold the most promise to bridge that gap?