Louisville-based insurer Humana, currently in merger talks with retail giant Walmart, will in 2018 expand its efforts to improve patient outcomes by addressing social determinants of health (SDOH).

Its Bold Goal program uses a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-developed tool, Healthy Days, to track key SDOHs, including food insecurity, loneliness and social isolation, and to better identify at-risk patient populations.

Data gathered by the tool has allowed the insurer to develop downstream intervention programs that break down social barriers to care.

“As the US population ages, we need to support their needs as well as the nurses, physicians and caregivers who are providing direct services and care,” Humana CEO Bruce Broussard told HealthITAnalytics.

Humana, he said, will continue to “focus on collective impact and addressing social determinants of health inside and outside of the clinical setting.”

Read the full story here, from HealthITAnalytics‘ Jessica Kent.