1Social Prescribing USA is the principle American hub for the growing movement calling for the use of the arts, volunteerism, nature, and local community organizations as medicine for patients of all ages.
Social prescribing considers social health as important to a patient’s health as physical and mental health, and is a key tool to address the loneliness epidemic and the social determinants of health. We believe the use of our own community resources as medicine is one of the next big ideas in health care in the U.S., as it is in 30+ other countries around the World.
Social Prescribing USA serves as a national voice for the field, supporting critically-needed research, connecting local organizations engaged with this work, identifying best practices,and building a national group of implementers, including physicians, to put into practice and promote social prescribing across the country in a range of medical settings.
What is Social Prescribing
In social prescribing practice, health professionals ‘prescribe’ their patients to connect with a trained worker who assesses the patients and asks, ‘What matters to you?’ Together, they make a plan, and the worker provides individualized connections to local services, community-based organizations, and local community groups. These referrals can also happen from the community itself.
Our Major Priorities
01
Curating and sharing the latest research and news on social prescribing
Curious? We’ve compiled the latest media, research, and resources on the Social Prescribing movement. Whether you’re looking to take charge of your health or integrate a new program in your practice, you can start here.
02
Prioritizing policy development & advocacy
We plan to work with local, regional, and national government agencies to build social prescribing into larger systems.
03
Building a community around patient-centered care
Join a community of implementers – academics, healthcare workers, nonprofit leaders and technologists at the front lines of social wellness. Monthly social prescribing virtual events are a space to learn, connect, and share ideas. If you’re interested in bringing social prescribing to your practice, campus or neighborhood, we’d love to hear from you!
04
Defining and professionalizing the field & capacity building
We will work to help build social prescribing into healthcare systems and medical education and training.
05
Bringing practitioners together at convenings and conferences
We have started to bring the 9 sectors of social prescribing together so we can move this work forward in the complexity of the U.S. healthcare system.