Health care is about so much more than medical tests or treatments. But, too often, health care providers forget to ask patients what they think would make them feel better.

Community health workers can help people take charge of their own health. Often living in the same communities and coming from similar backgrounds, they are able to share life experience with their clients and engender trust.

On this episode of The Dose, we talk about one community health worker program, IMPaCT, that is helping some of the poorest and sickest Americans meet their health and social needs.

As the COVID-19 pandemic upends all our lives, this idea of putting patients in charge — rather than telling them what to do — has particular resonance. Listen to our conversation with guest Shreya Kangovi, a primary care doctor and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and then subscribe wherever you find your podcasts.