Chicago’s Childhood Lead Paint Data-Sharing Project Wins State and Local Innovation Prize

The Milbank Memorial Fund and AcademyHealth have announced that Chicago’s Childhood Lead Paint Data-Sharing Project has won the inaugural State and Local Innovation Prize, recognizing state and local efforts to use data to improve the health of populations and the performance of health systems. The winner was announced on the mainstage of 2018 Health Datapalooza on April 26.

The winner:

The Chicago Department of Public Health and Department of Innovation and Technology with the University of Chicago Center for Data Science and Public Policy developed a more proactive approach to lead paint exposure and poisoning in children. They created a predictive model that combines data from multiple sectors to identify at-risk children for blood testing or homes for lead inspections. The project also developed a shared platform with pediatric providers that recommends specific actions based on lead-poisoning risk. To demonstrate the extent of the problem, the Chicago Tribune recently reported that toxic lead was found in nearly 70% of 2,800 homes around Chicago.

The other finalists:

Chatham County Georgia’s Project to Leverage Regional HIEs for Continuity of Care for County Jail Inmates

Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council, Inc., ChathamHealthLink, Chatham County, Chatham County Sheriff’s Department, Curtis V. Cooper Primary Health Care, Inc., and the Georgia Regional Academic Community Health Information Exchange worked together to close the medical information gap and improve patient safety and health outcomes for those within the county’s jail and those transitioning back into the county’s population.

Washington State’s Integrating Medicaid and Medicare Data Using the Predictive Risk Intelligence System (PRISM)

The Washington State Department of Health and Human Services, Washington State Health Care Authority, and the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services partnered to integrate state Medicaid and federal Medicare data for predictive modeling that targets innovative care coordination and social service interventions. The system also supports care coordinators in the development of person-centered health action plans.

The decision: 

A panel of experts reviewed more than 40 applications. They looked for projects that demonstrated innovation in overcoming traditional public sector barriers and challenges to leveraging data for policy and programs, measurable impact on specific metrics of population health, sustainability of effort and likely future impact on policy and programs, and potential to scale and/or replicate.

“The prize recognizes exemplary state and local government efforts to mobilize data in new ways to advance population health,” says Christopher Koller, president of the Fund. “All three of our finalists identified a health need for a population in their community, and were relentless in locating, combining, and analyzing data to help meet that need. Their projects speak to the dedication and innovation government is bringing to use data to help improve the lives of the people they serve.”

There will be more detailed information about the winning projects soon.