Health care in the United States approaches patient well-being with a very narrow focus, treating immediate physical symptoms and maladies while failing to address psychosocial factors that affect overall wellbeing.

In the past few years, healthcare has shifted slightly towards more patient-centered care provision, allowing physicians to treat their charges inside and outside the hospital. Yet, as physicians form deeper connections with patients, they cannot help them to completely realize the full benefits of social engagement from the surrounding community alone.

The Comprehensive Care, Community and Culture Program (C4P) combines the individualized care of the Comprehensive Care Physician Program’s patient-driven physician outreach with enhanced access to community health workers and educational, cultural and arts opportunities to provide a new benchmark for holistic medicine.

In order to measure the impact of this new program, the Health Lab is conducting a randomized controlled trial to disseminate unimpeachable results for this encouraging intervention.