Title: Evaluating Texas Health Care Programs Addressing Patients’ Non-Medical Needs
Source: Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy
Authors: Loorysa Ulysse, Daniel Potter, Jacquie Klotz, Charles W. Mathias, Elena M. Marks
Increasingly, services that address patients’ non-medical needs are being integrated into health
care delivery to improve health outcomes. In Texas, we identified nearly 150 programs
addressing patients’ non-medical needs, such as food insecurity, housing instability, and
transportation access. In this emerging field of practice, it is critical to evaluate these programs to
understand who they help, under what conditions, and at what cost. An initial review shows that
only about half of these programs are being evaluated. This raises essential questions about
current practices and how program evaluation can be advanced going forward.
