Closing the Social-Needs Referral Gap: A Strategy to Connect People to High-Value Programs
HealthBegins September 3, 2026

 

A crucial opportunity to improve health and close disparities may be within reach: connecting more people to programs that are already available to them.

Healthcare institutions are increasingly investing in evidence-based programs and interventions to address health and social needs. Yet too often, these high-value programs are underutilized, leaving many who could benefit without access to available support. 

One approach to close this gap is Community Health Detailing (CHD), which brings community knowledge and trusted relationships into clinical settings. CHD adapts the proven approach of pharmaceutical detailing—using brief, targeted interactions to influence provider knowledge and practice—applied to health and social care.

Through this live discussion, we will explain how CHD can help frontline teams more effectively connect patients to high-value health and social care programs, building provider knowledge and confidence, strengthening clinical-community partnerships, and connecting the community to vital resources. We’ll discuss what CHD looks like in practice, where it can fit within broader quality improvement efforts, and lessons learned from organizations putting the approach into practice.

Watch Webinar

 

Speakers: 

  • Alejandra Cabrera, MPH, Programs Director, Learning & Improvement, HealthBegins (moderator)
  • Rishi Manchanda, MD MPH, CEO, HealthBegins
  • Taleen Yepremian, MHA, Senior Program Manager, HealthBegins
  • Beth Deakins, Executive Director of Healthy Living, YMCA of Greater Toledo

 

By the end of the webinar, you will be able to:

  • Describe common obstacles to clinical screening and referrals to evidence-based health interventions.
  • Explain Community Health Detailing (CHD) and how it works as a structured approach to engaging care teams and community partners.
  • Identify how CHD can be used to close care gaps. 
  • Describe the key components of a CHD approach, including education and behavior change strategies.
  • Understand how CHD fits within broader quality improvement (QI) efforts, including how it complements existing initiatives and system-level strategies.