Street medicine providers are growing in number across the United States. These committed teams take to the streets to deliver services to meet the unique needs of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness wherever they may live. While the evidence base for street medicine is growing, until recently, most providers could not bill for these services, which can be intensive to deliver.
Effective October 1, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services now allows providers across the country to bill for street medicine services. Before this change, only a small number of state Medicaid programs reimbursed for health care services delivered “on-the-street” — including outdoors and in community settings.
As opportunities for street medicine expand it is valuable to understand the emerging evidence and tools from the field for these programs. This blog post highlights select evidence-based resources and implementation tools that can benefit those interested in supporting and learning more about street medicine.