A Simple Health-Related Social Needs Referral Workflow in a Pediatric Emergency Department

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Emergency Medicine
• Health Services Research
• Quality Improvement Science

Background:

• Health-related social needs (HRSN) are prevalent among pediatric emergency department (PED) patients.
• Effective referral systems are crucial for connecting families with essential social services.
• Automated electronic health record (EHR)-based workflows offer a promising approach to streamline HRSN resource delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the success rate of families connecting with social services.
• To assess the effectiveness of an automated EHR-based referral workflow for HRSN resources in a PED.
• To identify barriers families encountered when attempting to access social services.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study involving families who requested HRSN resources from the PED between March-August 2025.
• Telephone surveys administered 1-2 months post-encounter to assess resource guide helpfulness, service connection, and barriers.
• Descriptive statistics and comparative tests (Chi-squared, T-tests) were used for data analysis.

Main Results:

• 101 of 229 eligible families (44.1%) completed follow-up surveys.
• Only 25.8% found the resource guide helpful; 22.8% successfully connected with a service.
• Key barriers included poor service experiences (12.9%) and lost contact information (64.4%).

Conclusions:

• An automated PED referral system facilitated social service connections for nearly a quarter of surveyed families.
• The study underscores the need for further quality improvement initiatives to overcome identified barriers.
• Optimizing EHR-integrated workflows can enhance patient access to vital social support systems.