The institute is expanding its partnership with COTA to analyze how demographics like zip code, ethnicity, and other socio-economic factors affect cancer care outcomes.
The Miami Cancer Institute is expanding its use of data analytics technology to identify gaps in care caused by social determinants of health.
The institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida, is extending its partnership with COTA, a developer of oncology-based data and analytics tools, to analyze how demographics like zip code, ethnicity, and other socio-economic factors affect care outcomes.
“Delayed cancer diagnosis for a patient frequently leads to poorer outcomes,” Leonard Kalman, MD, the institute’s executive deputy director and chief medical officer, said in a press release. “Our hope is that this collaborative research will identify the patients who are most at-risk for delayed diagnosis so we can increase education and expand access to routine cancer screenings for these populations.”
The issue is in the spotlight now as the nation moves away from the pandemic, which saw a shift from in-person care to virtual care and prompted many people to skip check-ups, wellness visits and other healthcare services they considered unimportant. Healthcare officials say that has led to an alarming decrease in cancer screenings, which could lead to a sharp increase in cancer diagnoses when people finally get around to those check-ups they should have had a year or two ago.
Apart from that, many health systems are now actively targeting social determinants of health, which are described as outside factors that affect clinical outcomes, including geographical, economic, social and societal barriers to accessing care. They're looking at new ways to reduce or eliminate these barriers, including through digital health and telehealth.
COTA has partnered with the Miami Cancer Institute since 2018, most recently applying the company's Real World Analytics (RWA) platform to better understand BRCA testing patterns. The institute is now testing all patients with newly diagnosed metastatic breast cancer for BRCA mutations, with a goal of identifying patients and their family members who are at increased risk.
Under the expanded deal, the institute will analyze curated real-world data, including de-identified electronic health records and claims data, to identify disparities in care management and patient outcomes.
Eric Wicklund is the associate content manager and senior editor for Innovation, Technology, and Pharma for HealthLeaders.