A Community Connection

The social prescription approach takes healthcare beyond the clinical setting

Dr. Heidi Prather

As roughly 60% of the U.S. adult population struggles with at least one chronic disease, the country’s overall approach to treatment is sick care not healthcare, said Heidi Prather, DO, FAAPMR, Sports Medicine, CAQ, attending physician, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), Department of Physiatry, New York; professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York; and medical director, HSS Lifestyle Medicine Program. She also serves as a diplomat to the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, Chesterfield, Mo.¹

In her keynote speech to the members of the ARP at ACR Convergence 2025, Dr. Prather discussed social prescription, an approach to the practice of medicine that expands the focus beyond the medical treatment of disease. With social prescription, a healthcare professional refers a patient to non-medical community programs designed to address various social determinants of health, such as loneliness, social isolation or insecure finances.

“It should be a personalized plan that promotes health, well-being and community connection,” Dr. Prather said. Patient engagement is central to success.

The Research

A U.K. study looked at implementation challenges of 20 link workers and social prescribing experiences of 19 clients. The term link worker covers a wide scope of industries, with people of various types of credentials who could be a health coach, navigator, social worker, nurse, physician or other medical worker. The study’s organizational approach emphasized a client’s personal responsibility for his or her health.²

“That is exactly what needs to happen,” Dr. Prather said. “But we as healthcare providers do a very poor job of enabling people to be a part of their own healthcare solution. That is a part of our system problem; that’s not an us problem.”

Researchers in the U.K. study found that a key benefit of social prescribing was significant help to some people with chronic disease. Challenges included embedding the approach within primary care and voluntary sector systems.

Other research on social prescribing showed that patients were more likely to enroll in the study program if they believed they would benefit from what was prescribed and if they had access to supported transportation to the first visit or activity, said Dr. Prather. Factors that contributed to the patient staying with a program included skilled and knowledgeable activity leaders and if the patient saw a change in symptoms or conditions.³