Miami company utilizing data platform to improve social determinants of health and health outcomes

By

Shane Ersland

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A Miami technology company is focused on using data to improve social determinants of health (SDOH) and health outcomes for vulnerable Floridians.

Spatially Health ties SDOH factors to health outcomes and costs, while providing predictive, interactive, and visual analysis that transforms rudimentary healthcare analytics into actionable insights. CEO Dr. Hillit Meidar-Alfi is an architect and entrepreneur, who told State of Reform she restructured her company to launch Spatially Health in 2019 to give clients insights about healthcare needs and opportunities.

“Our approach allows us to look at every person equally,” Meidar-Alfi said. “The reality is that healthcare is complex, for both providers and patients. It’s hard to be a patient today. And the lower their income level, the more complicated it is. SDOH has come to the forefront of the healthcare conversation. It’s not a new problem; it’s been affecting us for a while. We’re trying to provide a 360-degree picture so we can better take care of that person.”

Spatially Health recently entered into a partnership with ACO Health Partners, a Jacksonville-based shared savings accountable care organization (ACO). The partnership leverages Spatially Health’s Equity Equalizer platform, which identifies health equity barriers at the patient level, and provides targeted intervention recommendations that enhance patient engagement and improve medical management programs.

“We’re working with value-based organizations, ACOs, and Medicaid and Medicare Advantage plans to see how all these pieces fit together,” Meidar-Alfi said. “We’re looking out for health barriers that are impacting patients, and how that varies by market. Needs can change drastically. How do we better provide guidance for our clients to succeed within that context?”

The Equity Equalizer platform measures cost in relation to health barriers, and has enhanced tools for mitigating risk and improving quality in relation to SDOH health barriers. It analyzes the SDOHs of individual patients, then recommends targeted interventions while ranking patients by vulnerability to ensure the most vulnerable patients’ needs can be addressed first.

“We want to provide the tools, insights, and data for providers at the time and place where it is needed to provide the best care they can for patients,” Meidar-Alfi said. “We need to achieve more shared savings. 

“We need to start looking at SDOH risk factors. It’s not enough to tell us how to fill in the gaps. Everyone has them. The question is, do those drivers of health impact you negatively or positively? The way to approach health equity is to be able to work in the dynamic environment it is. It’s not one-size-fits-all.”