Screening Patient Social Connectedness in Colorado Primary Care Clinics

December 2020 – Ongoing // Colorado Project // PARTNERme

Partnering with the CO Center for Primary Care Innovation to integrate social connectedness screening at the Westminster Medical Clinic.

Visible Network Labs and the Colorado Center for Primary Care Innovation are partnering together to help implement social connectedness screening at the Westminster Medical Clinic in the Denver, Colorado Metropolitan area.

While we know that an individual’s social connectedness directly affects their health and wellness, primary care providers lack the tools needed to measure and strengthen their patients’ support networks. We are helping the Westminster Clinic use PARTNERme to map their patient support networks, identify critical needs and gaps in support, and refer them to community resources. Our project goal is to demonstrate how this process can cut costs and improve outcomes while also strengthening the patient-provider relationship and trust.

The results from this pilot project will be used to inform and improve our efforts to scale the use of PARTNERme in primary care clinics throughout Colorado and the United States, with the support of the CO Center for Primary Care Innovation.

This pilot project is possible thanks to funding from the Prime Health Innovation Challenge.

"Our patients are experiencing loneliness, but we do not have the practice-level interventions, community-based interventions or partnerships, any resources, or tools to address loneliness. And we know we don’t want to screen unless we have something to do next. We were introduced to Danielle during the stay-at-home orders, and it was such a refreshing conversation. When we get to meet other people that are thinking the same things, talking the same language. We finally had this moment and opportunity to consider what could we invent?"