PQA Resource Guide Details Strategic Approaches to SDOH Intervention Success

As health systems, payers, and policymakers increasingly recognize that factors like housing, transportation, and food security can determine whether a medication works as intended, the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) has been building a roadmap for action. Its Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Resource Guide, now in its third iteration, profiles 40 projects nationwide where organizations have systematically tackled health-related social needs to improve medication use quality and outcomes. Organized by setting—such as community pharmacies and health plans—the guide details which SDOH barriers were addressed, how interventions were designed, and what results they achieved.

Yet as the guide circulated, 1 theme consistently emerged from stakeholder feedback: readers wanted to know more about the partnerships behind these efforts. Collaborative, community-based relationships were repeatedly cited as the backbone of successful SDOH initiatives, particularly where pharmacists, food organizations, and other trusted local entities joined forces.

In response, PQA has released a new SDOH Resource Companion Guide that zeroes in on those collaborations. Drawing on in-depth interviews with participating organizations, the companion guide distills what makes these partnerships work into 2 categories: strategic approaches—“hard” skills such as assembling a diverse team and defining success from the outset—and supporting attributes, the “soft” skills like mission alignment, adaptability, and persistence. Together, these characteristics offer a practical blueprint for teams seeking to launch or strengthen SDOH interventions.

Tammy Malm, PharmD, MPH, BCPS, director of education at PQA, discusses the third edition of the guide as well as the companion piece that will be released with it.

“Pharmacists are embedded in the community and are an important member of the team, but I need to underscore that pharmacists are not alone in this,” Malm said. “It is so important that pharmacists are brought on board as a partner in tackling any health-related social need, as they have spent years building trust within their community and are often the first line of care when patients have a health concern.”