Little Rock, Arkansas- June 2026        Community Quality Alliance (CQA), one of Arkansas’ leading Clinically Integrated Networks (CINs), continues to strengthen care coordination and population health initiatives through its partnership with the Arkansas State Health Alliance for Records Exchange (SHARE HIE).

Representing more than 500 providers across 130 clinics and over 32 different electronic medical record systems, CQA works to improve quality outcomes, enhance care coordination, and support value-based care delivery throughout Arkansas. Through integration with SHARE HIE, CQA providers have access to timely, statewide clinical information that helps improve patient care across multiple healthcare settings.

Using SHARE HIE’s interoperability network, CQA participating organizations receive real-time Admission, Discharge, and Transfer (ADT) alerts when attributed patients are seen in emergency departments, admitted to hospitals, or discharged from facilities across Arkansas within their analytical platform. These notifications allow care managers and providers to quickly intervene, coordinate follow-up care, reduce avoidable readmissions, and improve patient engagement after hospitalization.

Through SHARE HIE, Clinically Integrated Network (CIN) participants integrate a single connection from their electronic medical record (EMR) system into SHARE’s statewide interoperability network, allowing clinical data to be securely shared across participating providers, hospitals, specialists, payers, and care management organizations. Rather than building and maintaining numerous costly point-to-point interfaces with individual organizations, CIN participants can leverage SHARE as a centralized interoperability hub. SHARE then delivers real-time Admission, Discharge, and Transfer (ADT) alerts and Continuity of Care Documents (CCDs) on attributed CIN patient populations to CQA CIN, helping providers improve care coordination, support value-based care initiatives, and enhance transitions of care. This model significantly reduces interface complexity and maintenance costs while improving statewide data exchange, clinical visibility, and interoperability across diverse EMR platforms and healthcare organizations.

“Partnering with SHARE HIE has allowed CQA to scale interoperability across our Clinically Integrated Network in a way that would not be feasible through individual interfaces alone. By leveraging a single connection to SHARE, our participating providers can securely exchange critical patient information, receive real-time ADT alerts and CCDs, and improve care coordination across Arkansas. This approach not only reduces the cost and complexity of maintaining multiple interfaces, but also strengthens our ability to support value-based care initiatives and improve outcomes for the patients we serve.” — Britni Hoyt, Director of Population Health, Community Quality Alliance (CQA)

Scale of Impact through Transitions of Care Management (TCMs):

In addition to real-time alerts, SHARE HIE provides CQA CIN providers with secure access to the Virtual Health Record (VHR), allowing clinicians to view a longitudinal patient record that includes hospital encounters, laboratory results, radiology reports, discharge summaries, progress notes, and other critical clinical data contributed from healthcare organizations statewide.

 The partnership between CQA and SHARE HIE supports improved collaboration between primary care providers, specialists, hospitals, behavioral health organizations, and care management teams. Access to connected health information helps providers identify care gaps sooner, improve chronic disease management efforts, support preventative care initiatives, and better manage high-risk patient populations.

“CQA’s partnership with SHARE HIE has created tremendous value for our participating providers and the patients they serve across Arkansas. By leveraging SHARE’s statewide interoperability network, our CIN participants are able to securely exchange clinical information, receive real-time ADT alerts and CCDs, and improve care coordination without the expense and complexity of maintaining numerous individual interfaces. This collaboration allows us to scale interoperability more efficiently, strengthen value-based care efforts, and provide clinicians with timely data that supports better patient outcomes.” — Turner Willis, Executive Director, Community Quality Alliance (CQA)

By combining clinical integration with statewide interoperability, CQA and SHARE HIE are helping advance coordinated, patient-centered healthcare across Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley. Together, the organizations continue to demonstrate how connected data and collaborative care models can improve outcomes, support providers, and enhance overall healthcare experience for patients in Arkansas.

About Community Quality Alliance

To assure that patients in Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley receive the highest quality care, Community Quality Alliance has partnered with independent and employed physicians from across the region to develop a clinically integrated network (CIN). A CIN is a coalition of healthcare providers who work together in an aligned delivery network to improve the quality of care provided and improve the health outcomes of our community while controlling the total cost of care. The Community Quality Alliance is governed by employed and community physicians working collaboratively to assure patients receive the highest quality and safest care.

Through Community Quality Alliance participants are moving towards a more collaborative way of providing care, working with patients, providers, and payers to build a care system that coordinates the patient’s care across the community. Under value-based care models, providers are rewarded for helping patients accomplish three primary objectives: improve their health, reduce the effects and incidence of chronic disease and controlling the total cost of care where possible. It refocuses on the way providers are paid for care since pay is based in part on whether the highest quality care is provided in the most appropriate setting at the right time.

Learn More: CQA Resource Site

 

Little Rock, Arkansas- June 2026            CARTI’s integration with SHARE HIE via Flatiron OncoEMR is redefining what coordinated cancer care looks like in Arkansas, creating a seamless, real‑time clinical information network for every active CARTI patient across the entire state. By integrating Flatiron’s oncology‑specific EMR with SHARE’s statewide health information exchange, CARTI securely transmits clinical information from each patient encounter, ensuring that every provider involved in that patient’s care has immediate access to the most current, comprehensive health record. CARTI also receives alerts whenever a patient experiences an emergency department visit or inpatient hospitalization at any SHARE connected hospital, ensuring that no critical event goes unnoticed and no patient faces a health crisis without their oncology team being informed.

“This integration represents a meaningful step forward in how oncology care is delivered across Arkansas,” said Carson Seelinger, Chief Information Officer at CARTI. “By connecting Flatiron OncoEMR with SHARE HIE, we are ensuring external providers who care for CARTI patients have access to current clinical information in real time. This level of interoperability supports patient safety, improves care coordination, and allows our teams to respond more effectively during critical moments in a patient’s cancer journey”, said Seelinger.

Seamless, real‑time visibility now empowers CARTI’s physicians, nurses, and care coordinators to intervene faster, close care gaps, and provide timely follow‑up within hours of a hospitalization, dramatically improving safety during some of the most vulnerable moments in a cancer patient’s journey.

Through SHARE’s Virtual Health Record, CARTI care teams can access labs, imaging, discharge summaries, medications, and clinical notes from hospitals and providers statewide, eliminating blind spots and reducing duplicative testing, unnecessary radiation exposure, and delays in treatment decisions. Patients benefit from a smoother, more confident care experience, knowing their oncology team is automatically notified of hospital events and has the most current information at their fingertips, no matter where they seek emergency or inpatient care. Providers benefit from a unified, statewide view of their patients’ health, enabling more informed decision‑making, stronger communication with hospital teams, and a more coordinated approach to complex cancer care. Care teams benefit from streamlined workflows, fewer manual phone calls, and the assurance that critical data flows to the care teams, where it can be used to guide treatment planning, symptom management, and supportive care.

“For our clinical teams, having visibility into a patient’s emergency department visit or hospitalization makes a real difference.” said Carmen Jacobson, BSN, RN, Sr. Clinical Analyst at CARTI. “Real‑time alerts and shared clinical data mean we can reach out sooner, close gaps in care, and support patients when they need us most. Our partnership with SHARE HIE improves the level of coordinated, compassionate care we are able to provide statewide, said Jacobson.

Together, CARTI and SHARE HIE are building a statewide oncology ecosystem that is faster, safer, more connected, and more compassionate, one that ensures every Arkansan facing cancer receives timely, coordinated, data‑driven care, supported by a network that truly surrounds them, protects them, and lifts them up at every step of their journey.

 

About CARTI: CARTI is proud to have assembled a team of some of the most renowned cancer specialists in the country.  Since 1976, CARTI has stood at the forefront of cancer care, delivering compassionate, leading‑edge treatment to patients across Arkansas and beyond. As an independent, not‑for‑profit provider, CARTI offers comprehensive services for adult cancer, blood disorders, and related conditions, supported by an expert team that provides a full spectrum of treatment options—including medical, radiation and surgical oncology, diagnostic imaging, clinical research trials, comprehensive urologic care and more…

Guided by a mission to make trusted cancer care accessible to every patient, CARTI treats more than 60,000 individuals each year from every county in Arkansas and beyond. Its commitment to accessibility is reflected in its extensive network of locations, ensuring high‑quality, advanced treatment is available close to home in Clarksville, Clinton, Conway, Crossett, El Dorado, Fordyce, Heber Springs, Little Rock, Magnolia, North Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Russellville, Saline County, Searcy, Stuttgart, and at the CARTI Surgery Center in Little Rock. This statewide presence allows patients to receive exceptional care without sacrificing convenience.

Beyond clinical excellence, CARTI is dedicated to supporting patients and families throughout every step of the cancer journey. The Bridge, CARTI’s comprehensive patient assistance program, provides a wide range of supportive services designed to meet the emotional, financial, and practical needs that arise during treatment and survivorship. Through this holistic approach, CARTI ensures that every patient receives not only expert medical care but also the compassion, resources, and support needed to navigate cancer with dignity and strength.

Learn more: https://www.carti.com

 Little Rock, Arkansas- May 2026        ProMed Ambulance has long been recognized as a trusted provider of emergency medical transportation and prehospital care across rural Arkansas. Through its connection with the State Health Alliance for Records Exchange (SHARE) HIE, ProMed Ambulance is helping improve statewide interoperability, strengthen care coordination, and provide healthcare organizations with more timely access to critical EMS clinical information. With EMS stations strategically located across Arkansas, ProMed Ambulance serves patients and healthcare facilities in multiple rural communities, including: El Dorado & Smackover Stations (Union Co), Camden & E. Camden Stations (Ouachita Co), Hampton Station (Calhoun Co), Hamburg Station (Ashley Co), Perryville Station (Perry Co) and Pocahontas Station (Randolph Co).

As part of Arkansas’ growing connected health infrastructure, SHARE HIE is integrated with the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) EMS Registry, allowing EMS clinical run data from ProMed Ambulance’s electronic medical record (EMR) system to flow securely into the statewide health information exchange. This integration enables participating providers and hospitals to access valuable EMS encounter information in near real-time through the SHARE Virtual Health Record (VHR) and other interoperability workflows.

ProMed Ambulance leverages the SHARE Virtual Health Record (VHR) to give its clinical  and billing teams a more complete, consolidated view of a patient’s health history.

Through the VHR, ProMed teams can view:

• Admission, Discharge, and Transfer (ADT) reports

• Allergies, problems, and medication histories

• Laboratory and Radiology Results

• Discharge summaries and Continuity of Care Documents (CCDs)

• Progress notes and updated demographics

“At ProMed Ambulance, our commitment is to deliver the highest level of care from the moment we reach a patient. Having direct access to the SHARE Virtual Health Record gives our EMS crews critical insight into a patient’s medical history before we ever arrive on scene. This allows our teams to make faster, more informed decisions, especially for patients with complex conditions or frequent emergency needs. By integrating our EMS data with SHARE and using the VHR at the point of care, we’re closing information gaps that have existed for decades in rural emergency medicine. Our teams can see recent hospital visits, medications, allergies, updated demographic information and chronic conditions in real time. This two‑way visibility strengthens care coordination, improves safety, and ensures every patient we touch receives truly connected, continuity‑driven care.

SHARE has become an essential tool for our organization, and it is transforming how EMS supports the broader healthcare community across Arkansas.” — Ken Kelly, Chief Executive Officer, ProMed Ambulance

Having this information accessible through SHARE helps reduce information gaps between emergency responders and downstream providers, especially in rural communities where patients may receive care across multiple organizations and health systems. The integration also supports continuity of care efforts by allowing providers to better understand emergency events impacting their patients. Hospitals and clinics can more quickly identify recent EMS transports, improving follow-up care, transitions of care, chronic disease management, and post-discharge outreach.

Emergency medical services play a vital role in the patient care journey. Integrating EMS clinical data into the statewide health information exchange helps ensure providers have more complete and timely information to support clinical decision-making, improve coordination, and ultimately enhance patient outcomes across Arkansas.

About ProMed Ambulance: ProMed Ambulance is a premier provider of 911 and general ambulance transportation services. For more than 30 years, communities large and small have put their trust in them to deliver world class care while always maintaining our hometown values. They provide high-quality care and exceptional customer service to those they serve. Their mission, simply stated, is to provide care and compassion when it matters the most.

-MISSION: ProMed Ambulance seeks to provide high-quality, mobile health care and emergency management services in the communities we serve. Each team member endeavors to have a positive impact on the quality of life in the areas where we live and work. We strive daily to improve ourselves and our company so that we can promote a fulfilling work environment for our caregivers.

Learn more: https://promedambulance.com

                                                

“Streamlining Behavioral Health Care Coordination Through Interoperable Data Exchange” Points of Light 2026 Case Study 13

Little Rock, Arkansas — May 2026 National Recognition for Excellence in Behavioral Health Interoperability and Care Coordination

SHARE, the State Health Alliance for Records Exchange, together with Western Arkansas Counseling and Guidance Center, Arkansas Total Care, and Centauri Health Solutions, has been selected as a 2026 KLAS Points of Light Award recipient—one of the most distinguished recognitions in healthcare interoperability and collaborative innovation.

The Points of Light Award is known for honoring only the highest‑impact, real‑world partnerships that demonstrate measurable improvement in patient outcomes, operational efficiency, and cross‑organizational alignment. This year’s recognition places Arkansas among a nationally elite group of innovators advancing the future of connected care.

“Western Arkansas Counseling and Guidance Center significantly improved post‑discharge follow-up performance,” the case study notes, underscoring the transformative impact of the collaboration.

KLAS selected SHARE and its partners for their work showcased in Points of Light Case Study 13, which documents how the organizations overcame long‑standing fragmentation in behavioral health data exchange.

The award highlights:

• A statewide interoperability model built on SHARE’s real‑time ADT and CCD exchange
• A pioneering behavioral health value‑based care framework
• Curated, payer‑ready clinical data that eliminated manual reporting burdens
• Integrated workflows enabling 24–48‑hour post‑discharge follow-up
• A measurable rise in the behavioral health HEDIS chapter rate from 2.82 to 3.5

These achievements demonstrate how mission‑aligned partners can elevate care for high‑risk populations through interoperability excellence.

Read the full story behind this award‑winning collaboration here: https://klasresearch.com/report/streamlining-behavioral-health-care-coordination-through-interoperable-data-exchange-points-of-light-2026-case-study-13/4029

Little Rock, Arkansas- March 2026               As a newly opened specialty practice in Little Rock, Pinnacle Gastroenterology established its foundation with a clear focus on delivering high-quality, patient-centered digestive care while leveraging advanced technology to support better outcomes. Recognizing early that interoperability is essential to modern specialty care, Pinnacle made the strategic decision to integrate its Modernizing Medicine gGastro EMR with SHARE HIE (State Health Alliance for Records Exchange) at launch. This proactive approach ensures the practice is fully connected to Arkansas’ statewide health information exchange, enabling seamless access to patient information across care settings.

By integrating with SHARE HIE from day one, Pinnacle Gastroenterology has equipped its providers with real-time access to a comprehensive, longitudinal patient record. This is especially critical in gastroenterology, where patients often have complex conditions requiring coordination between primary care providers, hospitals, labs, and other specialists. Through SHARE, Pinnacle clinicians can access critical clinical data that supports more informed decision-making and improves care delivery.

Through SHARE HIE, Pinnacle Gastroenterology can access:

• Hospital admissions, discharges, and emergency department visits
• Laboratory and diagnostic imaging results
• Medication Histories and clinical documentation
• Continuity of Care Documents (CCDs) from referring providers

Pinnacle Gastroenterology also places a strong emphasis on collaboration with its referral partners across Arkansas. Participation in SHARE enhances these relationships by enabling more efficient, bidirectional exchange of information. Referring providers benefit from improved visibility into specialty care, while Pinnacle providers gain valuable clinical context prior to patient visits, resulting in better coordinated and more efficient care.

This connectivity strengthens referral partnerships by:

• Providing pre-visit insight into patient history and prior care
• Supporting timely sharing of consultation notes and procedure results
• Improving transitions of care following procedures or hospitalizations
• Reducing administrative burden and duplicate testing

In addition to improving clinical workflows, integration with SHARE positions Pinnacle Gastroenterology for success under the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and other value-based care programs. Access to aggregated, statewide clinical data allows the practice to more effectively manage quality measures, close care gaps, and streamline reporting requirements without adding operational complexity.

SHARE supports Pinnacle’s value-based care success by:

• Enhancing performance on quality measures with more complete data
• Identifying gaps in care, including preventive screenings and follow-ups
• Strengthening care coordination and documentation
• Supporting accurate, efficient MIPS reporting and audit readiness

Ultimately, Pinnacle Gastroenterology’s decision to integrate with SHARE HIE at launch reflects a forward-thinking commitment to connected care. By embedding interoperability into its operational model from the beginning, Pinnacle is improving clinical decision-making, strengthening partnerships across the healthcare continuum, and delivering a more seamless patient experience.

Pinnacle Gastroenterology’s participation in SHARE not only benefits its own providers and patients but also adds value to the broader Arkansas healthcare ecosystem, demonstrating how early adoption of health information exchange can drive better outcomes, improved efficiency, and stronger collaboration statewide.

About Pinnacle Gastroenterology

Pinnacle Gastroenterology is a newly opened gastroenterology practice in Midtown Little Rock, focused on delivering compassionate, patient-centered digestive care with timely access to specialty services. Located at 409 N. University Ave., Little Rock, Arkansas 72205, Pinnacle emphasizes reducing delays in care by offering appointments as soon as the same week and even Saturday availability for some patients. The practice presents itself as a provider of specialized GI care supported by state-of-the-art screening technology, advanced diagnostic procedures, and personalized attention for patients dealing with digestive health concerns.  “Compassionate Care for Your Digestive Health”

Learn more: https://pinnaclegihealth.com

 

 

 

 

Little Rock, Arkansas- January 2026               North Arkansas Regional Medical Center (NARMC) in Harrison has once again demonstrated its leadership in advancing interoperability by upgrading to Meditech Expanse across its hospital and all affiliated clinics. As the very first hospital to connect to SHARE HIE in early 2014, NARMC helped lay the groundwork for statewide data exchange, and more than a decade later, that partnership continues to evolve. With this latest Meditech Expanse implementation, SHARE HIE was there once again to streamline interoperability, ensuring seamless bi-directional data flow. This approach not only improves efficiency and data accuracy but also results in meaningful cost and time savings for NARMC, allowing clinical and IT teams to focus more on patient care and less on complex technical maintenance.

With this enhanced Meditech Expanse connection, NARMC providers benefit from real-time clinical data exchange, automated public health reporting, and streamlined access to patient information from across the state. The new interfaces support electronic lab reporting, immunization submissions, and syndromic surveillance reporting directly to the Arkansas Department of Health, reducing administrative burdens and ensuring accurate, timely data for public health monitoring. Providers across NARMC’s clinics also gain more complete patient records through updated Continuity of Care Document (CCD) sharing, encounter data, and live integrations that fit directly into their existing workflows.

SHARE HIE continues to support NARMC’s clinicians with tools that strengthen care coordination across the continuum. Real-time emergency department and inpatient discharge notifications alert primary care providers, specialists, behavioral health partners, ACOs, and CINs when their patients are seen or discharged at NARMC. These timely alerts support smoother transitions of care, quicker follow-up, and reduced risk of readmissions. In addition, SHARE delivers readmission reports that help NARMC track high-risk patients, identify trends, and support value-based care initiatives, quality programs, and population health strategies.

“Our bi-directional connection with SHARE HIE enables real-time clinical data to flow seamlessly into and out of our system, strengthening patient safety and care coordination. It allows our nurses to act faster, identify risks sooner, and collaborate more effectively across the care team, enhancing every step of the patient journey”. — Donna Boehm, BSN, RN, Chief Nursing Officer, NARMC

Together, NARMC and SHARE HIE continue to advance rural and regional interoperability, offering a model for how committed partnerships can elevate healthcare delivery. The long-standing collaboration improves clinical quality, strengthens provider communication, reduces care gaps, and enhances operational efficiency through automated reporting and real-time data exchange.

“SHARE HIE has been a trusted partner in NARMC’s commitment to building a truly connected healthcare community. Completing our Meditech Expanse integration strengthens our ability to deliver high-quality, coordinated care and ensures our providers have the information they need the moment they need it.” — Sammie Cribbs Roberson, MSN, AGCNS-BC, APRN, President and Chief Executive Officer, NARMC

 

About NARMC: North Arkansas Regional Medical Center is an innovative, non-profit healthcare system consisting of a central hospital in Harrison, Arkansas, and 13 clinics serving the rural communities of North Arkansas. More than 750 NARMC employees, including 32 physicians, physician assistants and APRNs, work together to provide a comprehensive range of healthcare services.

​​The not-for-profit hospital is guided by four sets of values: safety, quality, integrity, and community. These values go hand-in-hand with the mission of the Medical Center, which is to provide comprehensive healthcare in Northwest Arkansas, and with its vision to be the most trusted and preferred healthcare provider in the area.

Learn more: www.narmc.com

Little Rock, Arkansas –     Restore Hope is transforming lives across Arkansas and the nation by helping families in crisis access the right support at the right time. That mission will become even stronger thanks to a new collaboration with SHARE HIE, Arkansas’s statewide health information exchange.

Restore Hope will begin receiving real-time Emergency Department (ED) and Inpatient (IP) notification reports through SHARE HIE for participants being served by a Restore Hope initiative. These alerts allow Restore Hope’s care coordinators, advocates, and community partners to identify when a participant has an acute medical event and follow up with proper resources, support, and stabilization services in a timely manner.

How It Will Work

When someone who is enrolled in a Restore Hope initiative is admitted to or discharged from a hospital, SHARE HIE securely notifies Restore Hope and community-based care teams so that they will be able to:

• Reach out to the participant and their family

• Assess immediate needs (housing, food, transportation, safety, mental health)

• Connect the participant to services through HopeHub, Restore Hope’s collaborative case-management system

• Coordinate with hospitals, clinics, behavioral health providers, and other local partners

• Reduce the chance of avoidable readmissions or crises

• Ensure the participant’s support network is fully informed

This real-time visibility bridges the gap between clinical healthcare and community-based care, empowering local service providers who are in HopeHub to offer timely and effective interventions.

“Real-time ED and inpatient notifications from SHARE HIE will be a game-changer. When a family experiences a crisis, minutes matter. These alerts allow our team to respond quickly, wrap support around the situation, and make sure no one falls through the cracks.” — Paul Chapman, Executive Director, Restore Hope

Why It Matters

Restore Hope serves families facing complex challenges: homelessness, foster-care involvement, poverty, legal issues, behavioral health needs, and more. These families often experience frequent acute-care visits, but community service providers have historically lacked information about hospital encounters.

With SHARE HIE’s notifications, local care teams can:

• Act faster during moments of crisis

• Strengthen care coordination across counties and agencies

• Track outcomes and measure impact

• Provide wraparound support that improves health, stability, and overall well-being

“The SHARE HIE notifications give service providers in HopeHub the ability to reach families exactly when they need help the most. When an emergency happens, a care team can step in and provide stability, resources, and hope.”— Karen Phillips, Chief Operations Officer, Restore Hope

“Technology should remove barriers, not create them. By connecting with SHARE HIE, we can create a seamless bridge between hospitals and community support systems to drive better outcomes.” — Sarah Littleton, Chief Technology Officer, Restore Hope

A Model for the Future

The partnership between SHARE HIE and Restore Hope demonstrates how health data + community support can work hand-in-hand. By connecting clinical events with real-world community action, Arkansas is building a more responsive, people-centered system—one that promotes stability, reduces crisis cycles, and empowers families to thrive.

About Restore Hope

Restore Hope is a mission-driven nonprofit helping communities in Arkansas and across the nation create transformational change. Through the HopeHub case management platform, local service providers—schools, nonprofits, state agencies, healthcare providers, faith communities, and courts—have the tools to work as one coordinated team. Statewide initiatives, such as 100 Families, have already led to family reunifications, a reduced need for foster care, and stronger family stability.

Learn more: https://www.restorehope.io/ 

Executive Summary

A statewide survey of Arkansas healthcare providers was conducted to understand their use of social determinants of health (SDOH) screening tools. Social determinants of health—the underlying social contextual, and environmental drivers of health—can affect individual health more than healthcare services. Surveying current practices, challenges, and opportunities for collecting and using SDOH
data can inform state health policies to improve SDOH integration within the Arkansas healthcare ecosystem.

The survey instrument was developed by the Arkansas Department of Health with partners from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Completed surveys were obtained from 145 providers representing 1376 hospitals, clinics, and healthcare facilities statewide with a survey completion rate of 91.8%.

Most responding organizations (87.1%) reported screening patients for SDOH-related needs. Commonly addressed needs are Food Insecurity, Housing Issues, and Transportation Issues consistent with national priorities. While providers screen at a high rate, there is a gap in referring patients for services and providing services directly:

• 79.5% screen for food insecurity, 60.7% make referrals for it, and 18.9% provide direct food-related services.

• 77.9% screen for housing issues, 52.5% make referrals, and only 4.9% provide direct housing services.

• 77.0% screen for transportation issues, 56.6% make referrals, and 15.6% provide direct transportation services.

While providers demonstrate strong motivation and substantial adoption of SDOH screening, systemic infrastructure gaps and resource constraints limit the ability to translate screening into meaningful patient outcomes. Addressing these barriers will require a coordinated strategy emphasizing collaborative infrastructure, sustainable financing, and workforce capacity building.

Major policy recommendations to improve the ecosystem for screening and providing SDOH services in Arkansas include:

• Strengthen community-based partnerships: Invest in social and community-service capacity to address social needs and to promote formal partnerships with healthcare providers.

• Develop sustainable SDOH financing models: Integrate reimbursement mechanisms for screening, referrals, and coordination to ensure continuity of services.

• Standardize SDOH tools and data exchange: Promote validated screening tools and data sharing through interoperable systems.

Arkansas healthcare providers are committed to improving population health. Realizing a coordinated system of SDOH screening and services to improve population health requires statewide leadership to build collaborations between providers and service organizations helping clients with SDOH issues. Implementation of infrastructure and reimbursement strategies in Arkansas is essential to translate policy into action.

 Access Full Survey Here: SDOH_Final Arkansas