Coordinated Care Organization employed GIS mapping to identify members impacted by wildfire and connect with community resources

In September of 2020, the Almeda Fire tore through the Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon, destroying more than 2,600 homes and creating a health crisis for thousands more – including many members of the Oregon Health Plan. Because of its detailed knowledge of local members and its connections to community resources, AllCare Health was able to quickly deploy help to at-risk residents.

This article from the New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst (November 2022) highlights how AllCare Health, one of COHO’s members, put the promise of the CCO model into practice during the emergency:

Within hours of the fires igniting locally, AllCare Health staff began the planning process for responding to members’ needs. The following day, AllCare deployed ArcGIS (Esri, Redlands, CA), a software tool that brings together geographic information systems (GIS), mapping, and analysis, to identify our members who were living within the fire zones. The tool relies on existing addresses for our members and readily identified those at risk, enabling prompt action during the crisis.

Using internal identification keys, we were then able to initially identify more than 8,300 affected Medicaid and Medicare members, including approximately 700 elderly, 700 disabled, and 51 expectant mothers. AllCare’s IT staff then forwarded the names of affected individuals to other internal staff, who began calling those members to inquire about their well-being and needs. A total of 9,630 affected members were eventually identified.

Read the full article at New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst by Dr. Richard Williams, MD, MBA, FAAFP.