RUHS’ Whole Person Health Score Validated by Harvard-affiliated Research Group

MORENO VALLEY, CA (March 20, 2025) - The Whole Person Health Score, an innovative and holistic patient assessment tool developed by Riverside University Health System (RUHS), was independently validated by a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital. 

The Whole Person Health Score (WPHS) goes beyond examining a person’s physical health; it strives to understand their emotional well-being, socioeconomic circumstances and use of available resources with a series of 28 targeted questions that paint a holistic health picture.  

Over the last year, the assessment was rigorously evaluated by the PROVE (Patient Reported Outcomes, Value and Experience) Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The center issued its validation in February 2025, finding that the tool is a reliable method for assessing factors that impact health.  

The evaluation was funded by RUHS – Behavioral Health.  

“To truly understand a person’s health challenges, we realized we needed to ask the right questions. And that’s what the Whole Person Health Score does,” said Dr. Mahbuba Khan, Medical Director of RUHS Community Health Centers. “The validation by the PROVE Center is a powerful testament to the value of this tool that allows us to tailor health services to a person’s specific needs.”  

The WPHS measures an individual’s health in six dimensions:  

• Physical health 
• Emotional health 
• Resource utilization (e.g., how often someone sees their doctor or takes medication) 
• Socioeconomics 
• Ownership/Activation (e.g., understanding your health to manage conditions) 
• Nutrition/Lifestyle 

The PROVE Center analyzed metrics from a sample of 58,055 patients who took the survey between August 2019 and February 2024 and found the WPHS to be a highly effective measure for determining a person’s needs. 

Individuals who complete the assessment show higher levels of engagement and improved satisfaction compared to non-assessed individuals. Data from May 2022 show that individuals who took the WPHS had a 1% no-show rate for follow-up appointments, compared to a 19% no-show rate for those who did not take the assessment.  

“As a team, we are encouraged to know we are on the right track, and we are honored to have the PROVE Center acknowledge the potential for the WPHS assessment to provide quality care,” said Dr. Geoffrey Leung, former Riverside County Public Health Officer and one of the doctors behind the assessment.

The WPHS was piloted at RUHS’ Jurupa Valley Community Health Center in 2016 and has been rolled out across the system and Riverside County. The digital assessment takes 10-15 minutes to complete, and the results are immediately available to a patient’s care team or support team. The responses and results of the assessment are confidential. 

The assessment, part of Riverside County’s RivCo ONE integration effort, is also used by other county departments such as Community Action Partnership, Office on Aging, Housing and Workforce Solutions, First 5, and the Department of Public Social Services to bring health and well-being to residents. The collaboration connects patients to much-needed resources, such as behavioral health services, veterans benefits, and food and utility assistance. 

“To meet our residents’ needs, we take a no-wrong-door approach,” said Jennifer Claar, Integrated Health and Human Services Director for Riverside County. “Whether they’re coming in for a checkup at a Community Health Center or seeking resources for their child from First 5, we can assess and help them using the Whole Person Health Score as a comprehensive tool to identify all areas of need.” 

The WPHS is available to adults 18 and older. An adolescent version is used in schools through RUHS – Behavioral Health’s Transforming our Partnerships for Student Success (TOPSS) program.  

Work on the Whole Person Health Score was published in the New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst in August 2022 and the assessment was copyrighted in 2024. The RUHS team is working toward publishing peer-reviewed metrics and data as it continues to grow the WPHS model. 

To watch a video about the WPHS, visit this link.  

Learn more: www.ruhealth.org.