OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Kaiser Permanente, the nation’s largest integrated nonprofit health care system, has created guidance that can be widely adopted across the health care industry for assessing COVID-19 patients’ need for social resources that will allow them to safely recover and reduce community spread of the virus.

The Kaiser Permanente COVID-19 Social Health Playbook provides clinical care teams with guidance and tools for screening patients for social needs, connecting them to help, and following up to ensure their needs are met. The initial release of the playbook has a strong focus on addressing COVID-19 patients’ social needs to improve their health outcomes and to prevent further transmission of the virus. It is publicly available as a free resource for care providers across the industry.

Kaiser Permanente has already broadened the scope of its care and services to address crucial factors that affect people’s health,