Social Determinants of Health Protocol

Last update: Sept. 30, 2020

Effective Oct. 1, 2020, providers are encouraged to capture Social Determinants of Health (SDoH), as defined below, by utilizing SDoH ICD-10 diagnostic code(s) (or successor diagnostic codes) in the medical record.

Social Determinants of Health

SDoH are non-clinical societal and environmental factors that create a barrier to health and wellness. These are conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. They include factors like:

• Access to health care and healthy food
• Literacy and health education
• Employment and socioeconomic status
• Physical environment and housing concerns
• Social support 
• Foster  care circumstances

To strengthen UnitedHealthcare’s ability to work together with healthcare providers to help more members, utilizing SDoH codes will allow health care providers and UnitedHealthcare to:

• Collect data for quality improvement
• Identify solutions that align more closely with patients’ needs
• Advance health equity

ICD-10 Coding Guidance

Health care providers are strongly encouraged to routinely screen, document and submit the appropriate ICD-10 code(s). Please use the ICD-10 Codes when submitting a claim for a member affected by any of the SDoH.

To Access SDOH Full Protocol

The full Social Determinants of Health Protocol can be found at UHCprovider.com > Policies and Protocols > Additional Resources > Protocols > Social Determinants of Health Protocol