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Provider resources for the social and structural determinants of health

Helping healthcare providers create a system that supports our marginalized patients by accessing resources and other sources of community support related to housing, criminalization, immigration, transportation, income support, and substance use.

What is Docs for Health?

Watch our walkthrough video to learn how to get started using Docs for Health.
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Our mission

Providers use Docs for Health to support patients in accessing the insufficient resources that exist within our current system of care. The resources here are valuable and possibly life-changing, but they are the start of, not an end to, our collective work to create a system that truly supports our marginalized patients. 
Our mission is twofold:

improvePatient quality of lifeand outcomes

Paperwork alone will never lead to justice but it is a place to start. We will raise awareness of the consequences of our needs- and deficits-based systems of care by equipping providers with practical knowledge to support productive partnerships with patients.
Illustration of flower to represent quality of life

PROMOTE ARights-based approachto patient care

By making visible the ways our patients experience structural violence, Docs for Health contributes to the dialogue about the state of our healthcare and social service systems, where patients and providers exist within them, and how we collectively navigate them.
Illustration of scale to represent a rights-based approach

Criminalization

There is significant evidence that incarceration worsens medical and mental health. A large proportion of people who are incarcerated suffer from mental health and substance use disorders. A correctional setting is far from the ideal place to treat these and other medical conditions. Research has found that people with mental illness and substance use disorders do better when they are treated in the community rather than in correctional settings.

  • Addressing a Criminal and/or Civil Charge Caused by a Medical Condition

    If your patient has been charged with a criminal or civil offense, this resource provides guidance in writing a letter to highlight how a medical condition, mental illness, or disability has contributed to their involvement in the legal system.
  • Impact of Incarceration on Health

    If incarceration will impact your patient’s medical or mental health, this resource will help you to write a letter advocating that a prison sentence not be imposed on your patient.
  • Missed Court Appearances

    If, in your assessment, your patient has missed a required court appearance due to an underlying physical or mental health condition and is at risk of facing legal punishment, this resource will help you to write a letter advocating that your patient not be penalized for missing a court date.

Gender Identity

There is ample evidence that individuals who are transgender, genderqueer, or gender non-binary may experience higher rates of mental health issues, often resulting from societal biases and stigmatization. Medical providers and members of the care team can support patients whose gender identities may differ from their sex assigned at birth.

  • Name/Gender Marker Change

    If your patient would like to legally change their name or gender marker on paperwork including birth certificate, license, or passport, this resource will allow you to write a letter in support of this change by outlining the adverse impacts of gender dysphoria and the importance of gender affirming care.

Housing

Safe housing provides a stable foundation for patients to work on health-related goals. Without adequate housing, patients may be too preoccupied with basic survival needs to discuss longer-term health concerns. For patients with housing, ensuring that living arrangements are sensitive to health-related needs can be an ongoing challenge.

  • Poor Housing Conditions

    If your patient is living in poor or unsafe housing conditions that are negatively affecting their health, including concerns related to overcrowding, rodents, roaches, mold, lead exposure, or utilities, this resource will allow you to write a letter to the landlord explaining the impacts of these conditions on your patient’s health and advocating for timely changes to be made.
  • Emotional Support Animals

    If your patient wishes to be housed with animals whom they identify as supportive to them, this resource provides guidance for writing a letter that allows an individual to bring an animal into a building or other place that prohibits pets, and/or waives a deposit fee.
  • Preventing Utilities Shut-Off

    If your patient is seriously ill or has a disability and is at risk of having their utilities shut-off, this form will allow you to advocate for a deferral of service termination.

Immigration

Immigration status can predispose individuals to worse health outcomes in the United States due to factors such as limited insurance status and access to federal benefits, risk of detainment and deportation, and sociocultural barriers to accessing care. The experience of migration can have significant effects on patient's physical and mental health outcomes.

  • Medical Exceptions for U.S. Citizenship Test

    If your patient is applying for U.S. citizenship but has a disabling condition that prevents them from learning English and/or U.S. history and civics, this resource will help you provide the medical documentation necessary to support a patient's request for exemption from the English language and civics portions of the citizenship test.
  • Allowing for Family Member Visitation

    If your patient is very medically sick and has family members residing outside of the country who are unable to visit due to immigration policies, this resource will help you write a letter advocating for the patient’s relatives to be allowed to temporarily visit the United States.
  • Preventing Deportation

    If, in your assessment, deportation will impact your patient’s medical or mental health, this resource will help you to write a letter advocating for your patient not to be deported from the United States by immigration officials.

Income Support

Individuals who have a "disabling" medical or mental condition may experience significant challenges in obtaining employment opportunities and accessing stable incomes. Substance use and housing insecurity further exacerbate these difficulties. Individuals with these co-occurring conditions may be eligible for disability income assistance.

  • SOAR Evaluations (Work in Progress)

    If your patient has a disabling medical condition and is experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, this resource will help you complete documentation that helps a patient apply for SSI/SSDI benefits.

Rhode Island

Resources here are specific to Rhode Island. Adaptable versions may be found in other states.

  • Preventing Utilities Shut-Off

    If your patient is seriously ill or has a disability and is at risk of having their utilities shut-off, this form will allow you to advocate for a deferral of service termination.
  • RIPTA Disability Bus Pass

    If your patient has a disability and has difficulties paying for public transportation, this resource will help you write a letter advocating for your patient to receive a two-year disability bus pass.

Transportation

Travelling to appointments can be expensive, time-consuming, and unreliable. Faced with transportation challenges before every appointment, patients may find it difficult to maintain steady relationships with healthcare providers.

  • MTM (Non-Emergency Medical Transportation)

    If your patient experiences transportation difficulties and could use assistance to attend non-emergency healthcare appointments, this resource will help you complete documentation that helps a patient apply for MTM services.
  • DMV Disability Placard

    If your patient has a disability and needs a disability parking placard for their vehicle, this resource will help you fill out the application form.
  • RIPTA Disability Bus Pass

    If your patient has a disability and has difficulties paying for public transportation, this resource will help you write a letter advocating for your patient to receive a two-year disability bus pass.

Get in touch

Feedback on our resources? Thoughts on how to create a system that is sustainable and empowering both for our patients and for us as providers? Send us a message.
Please note that we are a small team of volunteers and therefore may be unable to respond to all messages received.

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    Or email us directly at
    community@docsforhealth.org