Social prescribing, sometimes referred to as community referral, is a means of enabling physicians, nurses and other primary care professionals to refer people to a range of local, non-clinical services.
Social prescribing is taking off in the UK as this article from the Guardian suggests.
Ways to Wellness is one such program in Newcastle, UK. Social Prescribing Network is another.
Europeans have been “taking the waters” for millennia which has a social component as well.
The USA is catching on – Walk With a Doc .