Examining the association of social determinants of health with outcomes in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension

Situation

The HEOR team at a public benefit corporation sought Avalere Health’s support in assessing how social determinants of health and geography characteristics of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension impact care, treatment patterns, and outcomes.

The client sought to understand how social determinants of health and geography impact the care, treatment patterns, and outcomes of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension to develop data-driven strategies for patient-centered drug development and patient programs.

Solution

We conducted a retrospective cohort study to examine social determinants of health and geographic risk factors of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. The study leveraged the 100% sample of Medicare fee-for-service claims data and the Inovalon closed claims database linked to Acxiom social determinants of health data.

Through a claims-based analysis, we were able to determine that social and geographic barriers to care exist for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Success

The client company will use health equity research and data from this study to help drive patient-centered initiatives across company, such as recruiting socially diverse patient populations for trials, developing patient interventions to improve access to care and specialty providers for disparate populations, and conducting targeted marketing efforts to improve patient access in underserved areas.