October 11, 2025
Less Medicine, More Connection
The Village to Village Network Conference takes on the topic of Social Prescribing and Better Medication Use in Age Friendly Health Systems. Article by Village Santa Cruz County
Prescriptions no longer come just from pharmacies. Social prescribing is an important aspect of one’s healthcare. Hedva Barenholtz Levy, a geriatric pharmacist, discussed Age Friendly Health Systems and how “social prescribing” fits perfectly with the mission and work of Villages.
What is Social Prescribing? Social prescribing is a model of care delivery that enables health professionals to formally prescribe non-clinical community activities to improve patient health. Social prescribing is designed to address social determinants of health, including social connections. Social prescribing broadens health professional toolkits, rather than replace pharmacological measures.
WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF AGE FRIENDLY HEALTH SYSTEMS?
- What Matters: Know and align care with each older adult’s specific health outcome goals and care preferences, including but not limited to, end-of-life care, and across settings of care.
- Medication: If medication is necessary, use Age-Friendly medications that do not interfere with: What Matters to the person, Mobility, or Mentation across settings of care. Use social prescribing in addition to and where appropriate in place of pharmaceuticals.
- Mentation: Prevent, identify, treat, and manage dementia, depression, and delirium across settings of care.
- Mobility: Ensure that older adults move safely every day in order to maintain function and do What Matters.
