{"id":166321,"date":"2024-11-21T03:04:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T03:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/?post_type=data-brief&#038;p=166321"},"modified":"2026-01-21T22:19:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T03:19:50","slug":"family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data","status":"publish","type":"data-brief","link":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/","title":{"rendered":"Family Medicine Physicians\u2019 Documentation Methods and the Value of Access to External Data for Addressing Social Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Family medicine physicians can play an important role in addressing social factors that impact health and health equity (1). Family physicians often provide care for individuals in medically underserved communities (2) and are well-positioned to collect information on patients\u2019 health-related social needs and social determinants of health (SDOH) that can be used to inform clinical-decision making, refer patients to social services, and identify health inequities. Collectively, these health equity data can help care teams identify and address health disparities and improve patient and population health (3). This brief uses data from 3 years (2022-2024) of the American Board of Family Medicine\u2019s Continuous Certification Questionnaire, which is fielded as two separate modules to mitigate participant burden. Using data from one module, we describe methods physicians use to document social needs in their electronic health record (EHR) system, particularly structured methods that facilitate data sharing with other organizations. Using data from a second module, we describe family physicians\u2019 rated importance of having access to external SDOH data from other organizations and how this varies by patient population and availability of resources to address social needs. Together, findings provide insight into the ability of family medicine practices to address social factors that impact health and health equity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-highlights\">Highlights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In 2022-2024, most family physicians who documented social needs in their electronic health record (EHR) system used a combination of free-text notes and structured methods, such as checking a box\/button or entering it as a diagnosis.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Physicians in small, independently owned practices had lower rates of social needs documentation in the EHR\u2014especially using structured methods\u2014compared to those in large, academic health centers or hospitals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nearly all family physicians nationally rated their access to external social determinants of health (SDOH) data to be very or somewhat important, especially those serving vulnerable patient populations as these physicians may have greater awareness of how SDOH can impact their patients\u2019 health and care.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Physicians who reported their clinic has resources available to address social needs had higher rates of structured documentation and placed greater importance on having access to external SDOH data, indicating a relationship between how data are captured and received and whether those data can be used to improve patient and population health.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-in-2024-over-half-of-family-physicians-used-structured-methods-check-boxes-buttons-or-diagnosis-codes-to-document-social-needs-in-the-ehr\"><strong>In 2024, over half of family physicians used structured methods\u2014check boxes\/buttons or diagnosis codes\u2014to document social needs in the EHR.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-findings\">Findings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list list-blue-star\">\n<li>In 2024, 60% of family physicians used free-text notes to document social needs in their EHR, a slight decrease from 2022 and 2023.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Documenting social needs by checking a box\/button in the EHR was more common than entering it as a diagnosis (i.e., ICD-10-CM Z codes). However, both types of structured documentation methods increased significantly between 2023 and 2024.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Overall, family physicians\u2019 use of structured methods\u2014checkboxes\/buttons or diagnosis codes\u2014 to document social needs is on the rise, with 58% using at least one structured method in 2024, a significant increase from 55% in 2023.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"><strong>Figure 1: <\/strong>Trends in the methods family physicians often or sometimes use to document screening for social needs in primary outpatient EHR, 2022-2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"567\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-1.png?w=1024\" alt=\"Figure 1: Trends in the methods family physicians often or sometimes use to document screening for social needs in primary outpatient EHR, 2022-2024\nThis figure contains a cluster column chart illustrating the different methods family physicians often or sometimes use to document screening for social needs in their primary outpatient EHR across the years 2022 to 2024. \nThe first cluster of columns shows that the share of family physicians who use free-text notes to document social needs in their EHR increased from 61 percent in 2022 to 62 percent in 2023, and then decreased significantly to 60 percent in 2024.\nThe second cluster of columns shows that the share of family physicians who use a checkbox or button to document social needs in their EHR decreased from 46 percent in 2022 to 44 percent in 2023, and then increased significantly to 47 percent in 2024.\nThe third cluster of columns shows that the share of family physicians who use diagnosis codes to document social needs in their EHR decreased from 35 percent in 2022 to 33 percent in 2023, and then increased significantly to 36 percent in 2024.\nThe fourth cluster of columns shows that the share of family physicians who use structured methods (checking a box\/button or diagnosis codes) to document social needs in their EHR decreased from 56% in 2022 to 55% in 2023, and then increased significantly to 58% in 2024.\" class=\"wp-image-166324\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-1.png 2145w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-1.png?resize=300,166 300w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-1.png?resize=768,425 768w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-1.png?resize=1024,567 1024w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-1.png?resize=1536,851 1536w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-1.png?resize=2048,1134 2048w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-1.png?resize=271,150 271w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: 2022-2024 American Board of Family Medicine Continuous Certification Questionnaire<br>Notes: The denominator represents family physicians who use an EHR. This includes Module B respondents in 2022 (N = 2,066) and 2023 (N = 4,109), and all respondents in 2024 (N = 7,620). \u201cStructured methods\u201d = an aggregate measure indicating respondents who often or sometimes used checkbox\/button or diagnosis codes to document social needs in the EHR. *Indicates statistically significant difference from prior year (P&lt;.05). ).&nbsp;See&nbsp;<a href=\"#Appendix_Table_1_76\">Appendix Table 1<\/a>&nbsp;for survey questions and&nbsp;Data Sources and Methods for respondent population.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-most-family-physicians-who-document-social-needs-in-their-ehr-use-a-combination-of-free-text-notes-and-structured-documentation-methods\"><strong>Most family physicians who document social needs in their EHR use a combination of free-text notes and structured documentation methods.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-findings-0\">Findings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list list-blue-star\">\n<li>While free-text notes remain the most common method used by family physicians to document social needs in the EHR, only 16% of physicians used this method exclusively.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nearly half of family physicians (44%) used free-text notes in combination with at least one structured method\u2014checkbox\/button (13%), diagnosis codes (9%) or both (22%)\u2014to document social needs in their EHR. Only 13% used structured methods exclusively.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>About a quarter of family physicians (27%) did not document social needs in their EHR.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"><strong>Figure 2: <\/strong>Combination of methods family physicians often or sometimes use to document screening for social needs in primary outpatient EHR, 2022-2024 (pooled).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"632\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-2.png?w=1024\" alt=\"Figure 2: Combination of methods family medicine physicians often or sometimes use to document screening for social needs in primary outpatient EHR, 2022-2024 (pooled)\nThis figure contains a Euler diagram consisting of three overlapping ovals that illustrate the different combinations of methods family physicians often or sometimes use to document screening for social needs in their primary outpatient EHR.\nThe largest oval illustrates the share of family physicians who use free-text notes (60 percent in total), the second largest oval illustrates the share who use checkbox\/buttons (47 percent in total), and the smallest oval illustrates the share who use diagnosis codes (35 percent in total). \nAreas of overlap between the ovals indicate that 13 percent of family physicians use free-text notes and checkbox\/buttons, 9 percent use free-text notes and diagnosis codes, 3 percent use checkbox\/buttons and diagnosis codes, and 22 percent use all three methods (free-text, checkbox\/button, diagnosis codes). Areas of non-overlap between the ovals show that 16 percent of family physicians use only free-text notes, 9 percent use only checkbox\/buttons, and 1 percent use only diagnosis codes. \nThis figure also contains a separate non-overlapping circle to indicate the 27 percent of family physicians who do not document social needs in their EHR.\" class=\"wp-image-166325\" style=\"width:800px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-2.png 1155w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-2.png?resize=300,185 300w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-2.png?resize=768,474 768w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-2.png?resize=1024,632 1024w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-2.png?resize=243,150 243w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: 2022-2024 American Board of Family Medicine Continuous Certification Questionnaire<br>Notes: The denominator represents a pooled sample of family physicians from 2022-2024 who use an EHR (N = 13,795). This includes Module B respondents in 2022-2023 (N = 6,175) and all respondents in 2024 (N = 7,620). See&nbsp;<a href=\"#Appendix_Table_1_76\">Appendix Table 1<\/a>&nbsp;for survey questions and&nbsp;Data Sources and Methods for respondent population. See&nbsp;<a href=\"#Appendix_Table_2_76\">Appendix Table 2<\/a>&nbsp;for a simplified exposition of these relationships.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-physicians-in-small-independent-practices-had-lower-rates-of-ehr-documentation-using-any-method-compared-to-those-in-large-academic-health-centers-or-hospitals\"><strong>Physicians in small, independent practices had lower rates of EHR documentation using any method compared to those in large, academic health centers or hospitals.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-findings-1\">Findings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list list-blue-star\">\n<li>Family physicians in academic health centers and those serving a large share (&gt;50%) of vulnerable patients had the highest rates of any social needs documentation in the EHR (83% and 82%, respectively) and using structured methods (67% and 66%, respectively).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Family physicians in independent practices, serving a small share (&lt;10%) of vulnerable patients, and those not participating in value-based care had the lowest rates of any (67%, 66%, and 61%, respectively) and structured documentation (48%, 50%, and 39%, respectively).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Family physicians using one of the top 3 EHR vendors by market share had higher rates of any (75%) and structured documentation (60%) compared to those using smaller vendors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"><strong>Table 1: <\/strong>Methods family physicians often or sometimes use to document screening for social needs in primary outpatient EHR, by practice characteristics, 2022-2024 (pooled).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\">&nbsp;<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\" scope=\"col\">Any documentation in EHR (73%)<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\" scope=\"col\">Structured documentation (57%)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\" scope=\"rowgroup\" colspan=\"3\">Practice site<\/th><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">Academic health center (ref)<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">83%<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">67%<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">Government<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">80%<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">67%<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">Hospital\/health system<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">74%*<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">59%*<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">Independent<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">67%*<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">48%*<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">Other<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">69%*<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">53%*<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\" scope=\"rowgroup\" colspan=\"3\">Practice size<\/th><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">1 to 5 (ref)<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">70%<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">53%<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">6 to 10<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">76%*<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">61%*<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">&gt;20<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">73%*<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">58%*<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\" scope=\"rowgroup\" colspan=\"3\">Location<\/th><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">Rural<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">73%<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">54%<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">Urban<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">73%<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">57%*<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\" scope=\"rowgroup\" colspan=\"3\">Value-based care<\/th><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">Yes (ref)<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">77%<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">62%<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">No<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">61%*<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">39%*<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">Don&#8217;t know<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">64%*<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">47%*<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\" scope=\"rowgroup\" colspan=\"3\">Vulnerable patient pop %<\/th><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">&lt;10% (ref)<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">66%<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">50%<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">10-49%<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">74%*<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">57%*<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">&gt;50%<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">82%*<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">66%*<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\" scope=\"rowgroup\" colspan=\"3\">EHR vendor market share^<\/th><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">Top 3 vendors by market share (ref)<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">75%<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">60%<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">4th to 6th market position<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">72%*<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">54%*<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">7th to 9th market position<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">68%*<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">49%*<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">All other vendors<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">69%*<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">49%*<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: 2022-2024 American Board of Family Medicine Continuous Certification Questionnaire<br>Notes: \u201cAny documentation in EHR\u201d = often or sometimes used at least 1 of 3 methods in Figure 1 to document social needs in the EHR. Structured documentation = often or sometimes used structured methods (checkbox\/button or diagnosis codes) to document social needs in the EHR. *Indicates statistically significant difference from reference category (P&lt;.05). See&nbsp;<a href=\"#Appendix_Table_1_76\">Appendix Table 1<\/a>&nbsp;for survey questions and Data Sources and Methods for respondent population. ^ EHR vendor market share is based on a question in the survey asking respondents to indicate their outpatient EHR vendor.\n\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-in-2022-and-2023-nearly-all-family-physicians-nationally-rated-their-access-to-external-sdoh-data-to-be-very-or-somewhat-important\"><strong>In 2022 and 2023, nearly all family physicians nationally rated their access to external SDOH data to be very or somewhat important.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-findings-2\">Findings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list list-blue-star\">\n<li>While less than half of family physicians rated their access to external SDOH data to be \u201cvery important\u201d \u2013 the vast majority of physicians felt it was at least somewhat important to have access to external SDOH data (e.g., housing stability, food insecurity) from other health systems\/organizations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>While less than 1 in 10 family physicians rated their access to external SDOH data to be \u201cnot at all important,\u201d this may be reflective of the patient populations they serve (e.g., low prevalence of social needs) or greater reliance on data collected internally.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"><strong>Figure 3: <\/strong>Family physicians\u2019 rated importance of having access to external SDOH data from other health systems\/organizations, 2022-2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"564\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-3.png?w=1024\" alt=\"Figure 3: Family physicians\u2019 rated importance of having access to external SDOH data from other health systems\/organizations, 2022-2023\nThis figure contains a clustered column chart illustrating family physicians\u2019 rated importance of having access to external SDOH data from other health systems or organizations in the years 2022 and 2023.\nThe first cluster of columns shows that the share of family physicians who believed it was \u201cNot at all important\u201d to have access to SDOH data from other health systems\/organizations increased from 7 percent in 2022 to 8 percent in 2023. \nThe second cluster of columns shows that the share of family physicians who believed it was \u201cSomewhat important\u201d to have access to SDOH data from other health systems\/organizations increased significantly from 48 percent in 2022 to 51 percent in 2023. \nThe third cluster of columns shows that the share of family physicians who believed it was \u201cVery important\u201d to have access to SDOH data decreased significantly from 45 percent in 2022 to 41 percent in 2023. \" class=\"wp-image-166327\" style=\"width:800px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-3.png 2145w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-3.png?resize=300,165 300w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-3.png?resize=768,423 768w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-3.png?resize=1024,564 1024w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-3.png?resize=1536,846 1536w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-3.png?resize=2048,1128 2048w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-3.png?resize=272,150 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: 2022-2023 American Board of Family Medicine Continuous Certification Questionnaire<br>Notes: Denominator represents family physicians who responded to Module A of each survey and use an EHR (N = 2,088 in 2022 and N = 4,087 in 2023). Question was not asked in 2024. *Indicates statistically significant difference from prior year (P&lt;.05). See&nbsp;<a href=\"#Appendix_Table_1_76\">Appendix Table 1<\/a>&nbsp;for survey questions and Data Sources and Methods for respondent population.&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-physicians-serving-a-higher-share-of-vulnerable-patients-placed-greater-importance-on-having-access-to-external-sdoh-data\">Physicians serving a higher share of vulnerable patients placed greater importance on having access to external SDOH data.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-findings-3\">Findings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list list-blue-star\">\n<li>In 2022-2023, family physicians serving a large (&gt;50%) or moderate (10-49%) share of vulnerable patients had higher rates of indicating it is \u201cvery important\u201d to have access to external SDOH data (47% and 42%, respectively) compared to those with a small share (&lt;10%) of vulnerable patients (38%).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sixty-two percent of family physicians with a small share of vulnerable patients (&lt;10%) indicated it was somewhat (53%) or not at all important (9%) to have access to external SDOH.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"><strong>Figure 4: <\/strong>Family physicians\u2019 rated importance of having access to external SDOH data from other health systems\/organizations, by share of vulnerable patient population, 2022-2023 (pooled).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"589\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-4.png?w=1024\" alt=\"Figure 4: Family physicians\u2019 rated importance of having access to external SDOH data from other health systems\/organizations, by share of vulnerable patient population, 2022-2023 (pooled).\nThis figure contains a stacked column chart illustrating family physicians\u2019 rated importance of having access to external SDOH data from other health systems or organizations, by share of vulnerable patient population served (less than 10 percent, 10 to 49 percent, greater than 50 percent).\nThe first column shows that among family physicians serving less than 10 percent vulnerable patients, 38 percent reported it was \u201cVery important\u201d to have access to external SDOH data from other health systems\/organizations, 53 percent reported it was \u201cSomewhat important,\u201d and 9 percent reported it was \u201cNot at all important.\u201d\nThe second column shows that among family physicians serving 10 to 49 percent vulnerable patients, 42 percent reported it was \u201cVery important\u201d to have access to external SDOH data from other health systems\/organizations (a significant difference from those serving less than 10 percent vulnerable patients), 50 percent reported it was \u201cSomewhat important,\u201d and 8 percent reported it was \u201cNot at all important.\u201d \nThe third column shows that among family physicians serving greater than 50 percent vulnerable patients, 47 percent reported it was \u201cVery important\u201d to have access to external SDOH data from other health systems\/organizations (a significant difference from those serving less than 10 percent vulnerable patients), 46 percent reported it was \u201cSomewhat important\u201d (a significant difference from those serving less than 10 percent vulnerable patients), and 7 percent reported it was \u201cNot at all important.\u201d \" class=\"wp-image-166328\" style=\"width:900px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-4.png 2181w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-4.png?resize=300,172 300w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-4.png?resize=768,442 768w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-4.png?resize=1024,589 1024w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-4.png?resize=1536,883 1536w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-4.png?resize=2048,1178 2048w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-4.png?resize=261,150 261w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: 2022-2023 American Board of Family Medicine Continuous Certification Questionnaire<br>Notes: The denominator represents a pooled sample of family physicians from 2022-2023 who use an EHR (N = 6,175), grouped by &lt;10% vulnerable patients (N = 2,160, 35%), 10-49% vulnerable patients (N = 2,662, 43%), and &gt;50% vulnerable patients (N = 1,353, 22%). *Indicates statistically significant difference from reference group (&lt;10% vulnerable patients) (P&lt;.05). See&nbsp;<a href=\"#Appendix_Table_1_76\">Appendix Table 1<\/a>&nbsp;for survey questions and Data Sources and Methods for respondent population.&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-family-physicians-who-reported-their-clinic-had-resources-to-address-social-needs-placed-greater-importance-on-having-access-to-external-sdoh-data-and-had-higher-rates-of-structured-documentation\">Family physicians who reported their clinic had resources to address social needs placed greater importance on having access to external SDOH data and had higher rates of structured documentation.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-findings-4\">Findings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list list-blue-star\">\n<li>Family physicians who reported their clinic had resources\u2014such as dedicated staff and linkages to community programs\u2014to address social needs (<a href=\"#Appendix_Figure_1_76\">Appendix Figure 1<\/a>) had higher rates of indicating it is \u201cvery important\u201d to have access to external SDOH data (44%) compared to those who do not have resources available (40%) (Panel A).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Family physicians who reported their clinic had resources to address social needs also had higher rates of using structured methods to document social needs (65%)\u2014which may facilitate data sharing with other providers or community-based organizations\u2014compared to those who do not have resources available (41%) (Panel B).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"><strong>Figure 5:<\/strong> Family physicians\u2019 rated importance of having access to external SDOH data (Panel A) and use of structured methods to document social needs (Panel B), by availability of resources and tools to address patients&#8217; social needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Panel A: Importance of Access to External SDOH &nbsp;Panel B: Use of structured methods to document social needs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"388\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-5.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Figure 5: Family medicine physicians\u2019 rated importance of having access to external SDOH data (Panel A) and use of structured methods to document social needs (Panel B), by availability of resources and tools to address patients' social needs.\nThis figure contains two stacked column charts illustrating family physicians\u2019 rated importance of having access to external SDOH data from other health systems or organizations (left panel) and use of structured methods to document social needs (right panel), by the availability of resources and tools to address patients\u2019 social needs.\nThe first column of the stacked column chart in the left panel shows that among family physicians who have \u201cResources available\u201d to address social needs, 44 percent reported it was \u201cVery important\u201d to have access to external SDOH data from other health systems\/organizations (a significant difference from those without resources), 49 percent reported it was \u201cSomewhat important,\u201d and 7 percent reported it was \u201cNot at all important\u201d (a significant difference from those without resources). The second column of the chart in the left panel shows that among family physicians who \u201cDo not have resources\u201d available to address social needs, 40 percent reported it was \u201cVery important\u201d to have access to external SDOH data from other health systems\/organizations, 48 percent reported it was \u201cSomewhat important,\u201d and 12 percent reported it was \u201cNot at all important.\u201d \nThe first column of the stacked column chart in the right panel shows that among family physicians who have \u201cResources available\u201d to address social needs, 65 percent collected data in a \u201cStructured\u201d format and 35 percent collected data that is \u201cNot structured\u201d\u2014both of which are significantly different from those without resources. The second column of the chart in the right panel shows that among family physicians who \u201cDo not have resources\u201d available to address social needs, 41 percent collected data in a \u201cStructured\u201d format and 59 percent collected data that is \u201cNot structured.\u201d\" class=\"wp-image-166329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-5.jpg 2550w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-5.jpg?resize=300,114 300w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-5.jpg?resize=768,291 768w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-5.jpg?resize=1024,388 1024w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-5.jpg?resize=1536,581 1536w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-5.jpg?resize=2048,775 2048w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-5.jpg?resize=396,150 396w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: 2022-2023 (Panel A) and 2022-2024 (Panel B) American Board of Family Medicine Continuous Certification Questionnaire<br>Notes: The denominators in Panels A and B represent a pooled sample of family physicians who use an EHR from 2022-2023 (N = 6,175) and 2022-2024 (N = 13,795), respectively, grouped by those who indicated they agree their clinic has \u201cResources available\u201d to address social needs (56% of the full sample) and those who disagree and \u201cDo not have resources\u201d to address social needs (23% of the full sample). Neutral responses (neither agree nor disagree) are not reported (22% of the full sample). *Indicates statistically significant difference between groups (P&lt;.05). See&nbsp;<a href=\"#Appendix_Table_1_76\">Appendix Table 1<\/a>&nbsp;for survey questions and Data Sources and Methods for respondent population.&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-summary\">Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Family physicians can play an important role in addressing the social risk factors that impact the health of patients and communities by screening for individuals\u2019 health-related social needs and broader SDOH. Data captured through screening can be used to inform clinical decision-making, refer patients to social services or resources, and identify and address health inequities in the community. In 2022-2024, nearly three-quarters of physicians (73%) used at least one of three methods\u2014free-text notes, checkbox\/button, diagnosis codes\u2014to document social needs in their EHR. While more than half of family physicians (61%) used free-text notes to document social needs in the EHR, only 16% used this method exclusively, and 44% used free-text notes in combination with at least one structured method. Our findings suggest the use of structured methods are on the rise with 58% of family physicians using at least one of two structured documentation methods in 2024, yet it is unclear how often these methods are used or which data elements are more commonly captured using structured electronic screening tools vs. free-text documentation. It is also unclear whether or how the introduction of new screening requirements and financial incentives to conduct SDOH screening assessments shape methods of documentation and perceived value of having access to data from outside sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While over half of physicians used structured methods to document social needs screening in their EHR, documentation practices varied by physician practice characteristics, patient population, and perceived capacity to address social needs. This is consistent with findings from a recent study of office-based physicians that demonstrated variation in documentation practices by physician specialty and practice characteristics (4). Our findings indicate that between 2022-2024, family physicians in small, independently-owned practices had lower rates of EHR documentation overall and using structured methods compared to those in large, academic health centers or hospitals, which may reflect differences in availability of resources to identify or address social needs. Notably, rates of EHR documentation were higher among physicians whose organization participates in at least one value-based care initiative\u2014which often incorporate financial incentives for providers to screen for and address health-related social needs (5)\u2014and among physicians serving vulnerable populations\u2014who may have greater awareness of the social risk factors present in their community and how they impact patients\u2019 health and care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Structured documentation was also more common among family physicians who believe their clinic has resources available to address social needs, which indicates a relationship between how data are captured and whether this information can be used for various purposes. The use of structured methods can enable providers to more easily coordinate with and share data with other providers or community-based organizations to connect patients to social services and address immediate unmet social needs. Finally, family physicians using one of the top three EHR vendors by market share had higher rates of documentation overall and using structured methods compared to those using smaller vendors. This may be due to greater availability of standardized screening tools and templates integrated into EHRs for these larger vendors, enabling higher rates of structured data collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While nearly all family physicians in our study felt it was very or somewhat important to have access to external SDOH data that can help inform patient care, rated importance of having access to SDOH from outside organizations was higher among physicians serving vulnerable patient populations and among those who reported their clinic has resources to address social needs. Consistent with findings from a recent study demonstrating a positive relationship between the availability of programs or strategies at US hospitals and rates of screening and use of data on patients\u2019 health-related social needs (6), this finding suggests perceived importance may be related to clinics\u2019 ability to address social needs or the prevalence of unmet social needs and social risk factors in the community. Without the capacity or resources to effectively address patients\u2019 social needs or community SDOH, physicians may place lower importance on having access to these data (7).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To help ensure that data collected and obtained are actionable and represented consistently, there are several ongoing federal and federally supported efforts to promote the standardization and exchange of structured SDOH and social needs data elements. These include standards developed by the Gravity Project to represent SDOH terminology which enable data to be captured in a standardized format in EHRs (8). Additionally, the United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) includes structured SDOH data elements and specifies standards for capturing screening or assessment, problems or concerns, and goals using LOINC and SNOMED standard terminologies and ICD-10-CM Z codes, the diagnosis codes used to document SDOH (9). In 2023, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy\/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP) released an SDOH Information Exchange Toolkit to support stakeholders\u2019 use of consensus-based standards by providing resources, such as a list of standardized screening tools\/toolkits, and other guidance for implementing IT infrastructure that supports SDOH data exchange (10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Continued measurement of how physicians document and obtain health equity data is important for understanding the extent to which these data can be incorporated into online medical records and clinical workflows, and can then be exchanged or utilized for various purposes including to inform further assessment or screening and contribute to shared decision-making and care delivery. Future efforts are needed to understand how often structured data elements are mapped to consensus-based standards, as this enables more consistent documentation, and facilitates the exchange of health equity data with other providers and community partners. Further, more work is needed to identify factors that influence the value of having access to external SDOH data which, combined with social needs data collected and documented internally, can help inform an individual\u2019s care plan and facilitate the delivery of person-centered care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-data-sources-and-methods\">Data Sources and Methods<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Data come from three waves (2022-2024) of the American Board of Family Medicine\u2019s Continuous Certification Questionnaire, which includes family physicians who provide direct patient care. The survey was completed by 4,247 physicians in 2022 (of which 4,154 use an EHR), 8,390 physicians in 2023 (of which 8,196 use an EHR), and 7,765 physicians in the Spring recertification cohort of 2024 (of which 7,620 use an EHR). Completion of the questionnaire is required as part of ABFM\u2019s recertification process and thus had a 100% response rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To mitigate burden associated with the questionnaire, certain questions were assigned to modules with approximately 50% of respondents assigned to Module A and 50% assigned to Module B. The respondent population for each year and module is included in the table below for family physicians who reported they use an EHR, which is the relevant denominator for all questions examined in this brief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-data-availability\">Data Availability<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) Continuous Certification Questionnaire data may be accessed for IRB-approved projects subject to the approval of the ABFM Research Governance Board. If you have questions or would like to learn more about the data source or these findings, you may contact&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:ASTP_Data@hhs.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ASTP_Data@hhs.gov<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-references\">References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>American Academy of Family Physicians. Advancing Health Equity by Addressing the Social Determinants of Health in Family Medicine (Position Paper). Accessed on: July 19, 2024. Available from:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aafp.org\/about\/policies\/all\/social-determinants-health-family-medicine-position-paper.html.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener external\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" class=\"wpel-processed wpel-icon-right\">https:\/\/www.aafp.org\/about\/policies\/all\/social-determinants-health-family-medicine-position-paper.html.<i class=\"wpel-icon fa fa-external-link\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Grumbach K, Hart LG, Mertz E, Coffman J, Palazzo L. Who is caring for the underserved? A comparison of primary care physicians and nonphysician clinicians in California and Washington. Ann Fam Med. 2003 Jul-Aug;1(2):97-104. Available from:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC1466573\/\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external noopener noreferrer\" class=\"wpel-processed wpel-icon-right\">https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC1466573\/<i class=\"wpel-icon fa fa-external-link\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy. Advancing Health Equity Fact Sheet. 2024 [Accessed on: July 19, 2024]. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Iott BE, Patel V, Richwine C. Physician Documentation of Social Determinants of Health: Results from Two National Surveys. J Gen Intern Med (2024). Available from:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s11606-024-09184-w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener external\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" class=\"wpel-processed wpel-icon-right\">https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s11606-024-09184-w<i class=\"wpel-icon fa fa-external-link\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Health Care Transformation Task Force. Value-based Payment Models: A Catalyst for Addressing the Non-Medical Factors that Influence Health. January 2018. Accessed on: Accessed July 19, 2024. Available from:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/hcttf.org\/value-and-sdoh\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener external\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" class=\"wpel-processed wpel-icon-right\">https:\/\/hcttf.org\/value-and-sdoh\/<i class=\"wpel-icon fa fa-external-link\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Richwine C, Meklir S. Hospitals&#8217; collection and use of data to address social needs and social determinants of health. Health Serv Res. 2024 Jul 2. Available from:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/38952231\/\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external noopener noreferrer\" class=\"wpel-processed wpel-icon-right\">https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/38952231\/<i class=\"wpel-icon fa fa-external-link\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>DesRoches CM, Wachenheim D, Garcia A, et al. Clinician and Patient Perspectives on the Exchange of Sensitive Social Determinants of Health Information. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(10):e2444376. Available from:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamanetworkopen\/fullarticle\/2825509?resultClick=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener external\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" class=\"wpel-processed wpel-icon-right\">https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamanetworkopen\/fullarticle\/2825509?resultClick=1<i class=\"wpel-icon fa fa-external-link\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Health Level 7. Gravity Project. Accessed on: July 26, 2024. Available from:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hl7.org\/gravity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener external\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" class=\"wpel-processed wpel-icon-right\">https:\/\/www.hl7.org\/gravity\/<i class=\"wpel-icon fa fa-external-link\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy. United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI): Social Determinants of Health [Internet]. Accessed on: July 26, 2024. Available from: <a href=\"https:\/\/isp.healthit.gov\/uscdi-data-class\/social-determinants-health\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">https:\/\/isp.healthit.gov\/uscdi-data-class\/social-determinants-health<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy. Social Determinants of Health Information Exchange Toolkit: Foundational Elements for Communities. February 2023 [Accessed on: July 26, 2024]. Available from: <a href=\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/2023-03-09_SDOH_Information_Exchange_Toolkit_Presentation_508.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener external\" class=\"wpel-no-icon wpel-processed\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">https:\/\/healthit.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/2023-03-09_SDOH_Information_Exchange_Toolkit_Presentation_508.pdf.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-acknowledgements\">Acknowledgements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The authors are with the Office of Standards, Certification, and Analysis, within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP). The data brief was drafted under the direction of Mera Choi, Director of the Technical Strategy and Analysis Division, Vaishali Patel, Deputy Director of the Technical Strategy and Analysis Division, and Wesley Barker, Chief of the Data Analysis Branch with subject matter expertise from Samantha Meklir and JaWanna Henry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-suggested-citation\">Suggested Citation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Richwine C. Family Medicine Physicians&#8217; Documentation Methods and the Value of Access to External Data for Addressing Social Needs. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy. Data Brief: 76. 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-appendix\">Appendix<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"Appendix_Table_1_76\"><strong>Appendix Table 1: <\/strong>Survey questions used for analyses and respondent population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\" scope=\"col\">Survey Question<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\" scope=\"col\">Response Options<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\" scope=\"col\">Respondent Population<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\" scope=\"row\">Rate your sense of the general importance of accessing the following types of external patient information electronically (within your EHR and\/or portal): Access to social determinants of health information (e.g., housing stability, food insecurity) from other health systems\/organizations)<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">\n\t\t\t\t<ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t<li>Very important<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<li>Somewhat important<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<li>Not at all important<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">\n\t\t\t\t2022-2023: Module A only (50%)<br><br>\n\t\t\t\t2024: Not asked<br><br>\n\t\t\t\tNote: Not asked to respondent who indicated they do not use an EHR\n\t\t\t<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\" scope=\"row\">How often do you document screening for social needs (such as transportation, housing, food insecurity) in your primary outpatient EHR\u2026 by checking a box\/button within the EHR? by writing it in a note? By entering it as a diagnosis (i.e., ICD-10-CM Z codes)?<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">\n\t\t\t\t<ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t<li>Often<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<li>Sometimes<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<li>Rarely<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<li>Never<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<li>Don&#8217;t know<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">\n\t\t\t\t2022-2023: Module B only (50%)<br><br>\n\t\t\t\t2024: All respondents<br><br>\n\t\t\t\tNote: Not asked to respondent who indicated they do not use an EHR\n\t\t\t<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\" scope=\"row\">My clinic has the resources and tools, such as dedicated staff and linkages to community programs, to address patients&#8217; social needs<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">\n\t\t\t\t<ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t<li>Agree<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<li>Neutral<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<li>Disagree<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">\n\t\t\t\t2022-2024: All respondents\n\t\t\t<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: 2022-2024 American Board of Family Medicine Continuous Certification Questionnaire<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"Appendix_Table_2_76\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--70)\"><strong>Appendix Table 2: <\/strong>Combination of methods family physicians often or sometimes use to document screening for social needs in primary outpatient EHR, 2022-2024 (pooed).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\" scope=\"col\">Methods of documentation<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\" scope=\"col\">&nbsp;<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\" scope=\"rowgroup\" colspan=\"2\">Single method:<\/th><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">Free-text notes<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">16%<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">Checkbox\/button<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">9%<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">Diagnosis codes<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1%<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\" scope=\"rowgroup\" colspan=\"2\">Multiple methods:<\/th><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">Free-text notes and Checkbox\/button<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">13%<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">Free-text notes and Diagnosis codes<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">9%<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">Checkbox\/button and Diagnosis codes<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">3%<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\">Free-text notes, Checkbox\/button, and Diagnosis codes<\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">22%<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Do not document in EHR<\/strong><\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">27%<\/td><\/tr><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-right\" data-align=\"right\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Total<\/strong><\/th><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">100%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: 2022-2024 American Board of Family Medicine Continuous Certification Questionnaire<br>Notes: The denominator represents a pooled sample of family physicians from 2022-2024 who use an EHR (N = 13,795). This includes Module B respondents in 2022-2023 (N = 6,175) and all respondents in 2024 (N = 7,620).\n\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"Appendix_Figure_1_76\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--70)\"><strong>Appendix Figure 1: <\/strong>Family physicians\u2019 beliefs that their clinic has resources available to address patients&#8217; social needs, 2022-2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"488\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-appendix-figure-1.png?w=1024\" alt=\"Appendix Figure 1: Family physicians\u2019 beliefs that their clinic has resources available to address patients' social needs, 2022-2024\nThis figure contains a cluster column chart illustrating family physicians\u2019 beliefs that their clinic has resources available to address patients\u2019 social needs across the years 2022 to 2024. \nThe first cluster of columns shows that the share of family physicians who believe they have \u201cResources available\u201d to address social needs decreased significantly from 57 percent in 2022 to 54 percent in 2023, and then increased significantly to 56 percent in 2024.\nThe second cluster of columns shows that the share of family physicians who believe they \u201cDo not have resources\u201d available to address social needs increased significantly from 21 percent in 2022 to 24 percent in 2023, and then decreased to 23 percent in 2024.\nThe third cluster of columns shows that the share of family physicians who are \u201cNeutral\u201d (neither or agree nor disagree that their clinic has resources available to address patients\u2019 social needs) remained steady at 22 percent in 2022 and 2023 and decreased slightly to 21 percent in 2024.\" class=\"wp-image-166330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-appendix-figure-1.png 2079w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-appendix-figure-1.png?resize=300,143 300w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-appendix-figure-1.png?resize=768,366 768w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-appendix-figure-1.png?resize=1024,488 1024w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-appendix-figure-1.png?resize=1536,731 1536w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-appendix-figure-1.png?resize=2048,975 2048w, https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-appendix-figure-1.png?resize=315,150 315w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: 2022-2024 American Board of Family Medicine Continuous Certification Questionnaire<br>Notes: Denominator represents all respondents in 2022-2024. Respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement with the statement, \u201cMy clinic has the resources and tools, such as dedicated staff and linkages to community programs, to address patients&#8217; social needs\u201d: Resources available = \u201cAgree\u201d, Do not have resources = \u201cDisagree\u201d, Neutral = \u201cNeutral\u201d (neither agree nor disagree). *Indicates statistically significant difference from prior year (P&lt;.05).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Family medicine physicians can play an important role in addressing social factors that impact health [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_selected_menu":"","_show_breadcrumbs":"true","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"topics":[55,126,65,61],"class_list":["post-166321","data-brief","type-data-brief","status-publish","hentry","topics-care-continuum","topics-data","topics-interoperability","topics-public-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.8.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Family Medicine Physicians\u2019 Documentation Methods and the Value of Access to External Data for Addressing Social Needs - ONC Health IT Research &amp; Analysis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Health IT Research and Analysis provides access to datasets, analysis, and reporting that monitor health information technology trends and Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT programs and policies.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Family Medicine Physicians\u2019 Documentation Methods and the Value of Access to External Data for Addressing Social Needs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Health IT Research and Analysis provides access to datasets, analysis, and reporting that monitor health information technology trends and Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT programs and policies.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ONC Health IT Research &amp; Analysis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-22T03:19:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2145\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1188\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"18 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/\",\"name\":\"Family Medicine Physicians\u2019 Documentation Methods and the Value of Access to External Data for Addressing Social Needs - ONC Health IT Research &amp; Analysis\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-1.png?w=1024\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-21T03:04:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-22T03:19:50+00:00\",\"description\":\"Health IT Research and Analysis provides access to datasets, analysis, and reporting that monitor health information technology trends and Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT programs and policies.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-1.png\",\"width\":2145,\"height\":1188,\"caption\":\"Figure 1: Trends in the methods family physicians often or sometimes use to document screening for social needs in primary outpatient EHR, 2022-2024 This figure contains a cluster column chart illustrating the different methods family physicians often or sometimes use to document screening for social needs in their primary outpatient EHR across the years 2022 to 2024. The first cluster of columns shows that the share of family physicians who use free-text notes to document social needs in their EHR increased from 61 percent in 2022 to 62 percent in 2023, and then decreased significantly to 60 percent in 2024. The second cluster of columns shows that the share of family physicians who use a checkbox or button to document social needs in their EHR decreased from 46 percent in 2022 to 44 percent in 2023, and then increased significantly to 47 percent in 2024. The third cluster of columns shows that the share of family physicians who use diagnosis codes to document social needs in their EHR decreased from 35 percent in 2022 to 33 percent in 2023, and then increased significantly to 36 percent in 2024. The fourth cluster of columns shows that the share of family physicians who use structured methods (checking a box\/button or diagnosis codes) to document social needs in their EHR decreased from 56% in 2022 to 55% in 2023, and then increased significantly to 58% in 2024.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Family Medicine Physicians\u2019 Documentation Methods and the Value of Access to External Data for Addressing Social Needs\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/\",\"name\":\"ONC - Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT\",\"description\":\"Better health enabled by data\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"ONC\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/#organization\",\"name\":\"ONC - Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT\",\"alternateName\":\"ONC\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/09\/ONC.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/09\/ONC.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":628,\"caption\":\"ONC - Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Family Medicine Physicians\u2019 Documentation Methods and the Value of Access to External Data for Addressing Social Needs - ONC Health IT Research &amp; Analysis","description":"Health IT Research and Analysis provides access to datasets, analysis, and reporting that monitor health information technology trends and Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT programs and policies.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Family Medicine Physicians\u2019 Documentation Methods and the Value of Access to External Data for Addressing Social Needs","og_description":"Health IT Research and Analysis provides access to datasets, analysis, and reporting that monitor health information technology trends and Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT programs and policies.","og_url":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/","og_site_name":"ONC Health IT Research &amp; Analysis","article_modified_time":"2026-01-22T03:19:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2145,"height":1188,"url":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"18 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/","url":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/","name":"Family Medicine Physicians\u2019 Documentation Methods and the Value of Access to External Data for Addressing Social Needs - ONC Health IT Research &amp; Analysis","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-1.png?w=1024","datePublished":"2024-11-21T03:04:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-22T03:19:50+00:00","description":"Health IT Research and Analysis provides access to datasets, analysis, and reporting that monitor health information technology trends and Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT programs and policies.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/data-brief-76-figure-1.png","width":2145,"height":1188,"caption":"Figure 1: Trends in the methods family physicians often or sometimes use to document screening for social needs in primary outpatient EHR, 2022-2024 This figure contains a cluster column chart illustrating the different methods family physicians often or sometimes use to document screening for social needs in their primary outpatient EHR across the years 2022 to 2024. The first cluster of columns shows that the share of family physicians who use free-text notes to document social needs in their EHR increased from 61 percent in 2022 to 62 percent in 2023, and then decreased significantly to 60 percent in 2024. The second cluster of columns shows that the share of family physicians who use a checkbox or button to document social needs in their EHR decreased from 46 percent in 2022 to 44 percent in 2023, and then increased significantly to 47 percent in 2024. The third cluster of columns shows that the share of family physicians who use diagnosis codes to document social needs in their EHR decreased from 35 percent in 2022 to 33 percent in 2023, and then increased significantly to 36 percent in 2024. The fourth cluster of columns shows that the share of family physicians who use structured methods (checking a box\/button or diagnosis codes) to document social needs in their EHR decreased from 56% in 2022 to 55% in 2023, and then increased significantly to 58% in 2024."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/data-briefs\/family-medicine-physicians-documentation-methods-and-value-access-external-data\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Family Medicine Physicians\u2019 Documentation Methods and the Value of Access to External Data for Addressing Social Needs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/#website","url":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/","name":"ONC - Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT","description":"Better health enabled by data","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/#organization"},"alternateName":"ONC","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/#organization","name":"ONC - Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT","alternateName":"ONC","url":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/09\/ONC.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/09\/ONC.jpg","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"ONC - Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/data-brief\/166321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/data-brief"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/data-brief"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/data-brief\/166321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":169107,"href":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/data-brief\/166321\/revisions\/169107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166321"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/data\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=166321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}