Baseline Covariates

The baseline period was defined as the 6 months before each clinic’s wedge began. Analyses accounted for clinic-level baseline measures: number of years since the clinic began using their current EHR; whether the clinic conducted screening at or above the 50th percentile for all study clinics (to capture prior experience with such screening); and patient characteristics aggregated to the clinic level (Table 1).

Wedge Characteristics in the 6-Month Baseline Period

EHR = electronic health record, SD = standard deviation.

We also accounted for whether the clinic was concurrently involved in the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center’s Accountable Health Communities (AHC) Model,³⁶ a large national demonstration project targeting implementation of social risk screening and navigation services. Participants involved in this demonstration received modest financial incentives but only minimal implementation support from CMS.