Although a critical component to accessing care, being insured does not guarantee the availability of care nor access to healthcare services. Factors such as social and economic conditions, the distribution of resources and proximity to community assets can drastically impact whether or not a resident receives the care that they need; this creates significant differences in access to care by demographics and geographies, leaving some groups or neighborhoods faced with greater barriers to accessing care than others.

 

Over the years, the New Orleans Health Department, UMC, and local public health system partners have conducted needs assessments identifying the most significant of these barriers:

• Cost/Affordability of care
• Lack of/limited transportation to services
• Lack of information/accuracy of information regarding insurance, coverage, and services
• Comfort with provider or service location (issues with cultural competency of providers- specifically language, racial bias, etc. have been cited)
• Difficulty getting an appointment
• Lack of insurance

Despite these barriers, there are several assets that may be utilized to address the issues in access. For one, there exists a robust network of over 60 community health clinics, many of which are Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) receiving federal funding to provide free or affordable care in underserved, low-income communities with high rates of uninsured. These clinics are required to meet Cultural and Linguistically Appropriate Standards and meet the needs of their immediate service area. Additionally, the development of University Medical Center New Orleans, a state of the art non-profit hospital and the region’s only level 1 trauma center, offers new opportunities to increase access to those facing social and economic barriers.

Our challenge is to develop a digital solution to improve access to care by addressing the top barriers to creation of an easily accessible technology (for example – text message system, smartphone app, etc) that would:

• Connect residents to a medical home and primary care provider that meets their needs and is aligned with their personal preferences, increasing access and the likelihood of service utilization. Needs and preferences to be considered may include: clinic hours and location, insurance status, in network/out of network coverage, language preference, provider gender, options for transportation, service needs etc.
• Streamline the process for making an appointment at a time and location that works with the user’s availability.
• Encourage uninsured residents to get insured by seeking assistance with health insurance enrollment and/or receiving information regarding options for health insurance.
• Increase knowledge and awareness of health insurance and healthcare services in a way that is culturally and linguistically appropriate, ultimately empowering the user to engage with the healthcare system more often. Examples of topic areas could be: health insurance enrollment, health insurance basics, overview of services, commonly used words and definitions, etc.

 

Ultimately, the digital solution should be made with the target population in mind, be user-friendly, intuitive, and locally relevant. It should take into consideration the barriers identified and the known disparities in access to care in the area.

Prize Package
The winner of the “Access to Care” Challenge will tour the $2.1B University Medical Center located in the heart of the New Orleans BioDistrict. The winning team will also have the opportunity to meet with Senior Executives from both University Medical Center and the New Orleans Health Department, to discuss matters such as potential improvements to, and/or the implementation of the winning solution within local patient populations. Upon determination of implementation potential, University Medical Center and the New Orleans Health Department will promote the winning team’s technology through multiple marketing and communication channels. The winning team may also be eligible to receive in-kind prizes, such as free co-working space, a spot within a startup accelerator program, startup business services, and more items, subject to availability.

Prize Package
The Lafayette General Foundation (LGF) houses the Healthcare Innovation Fund. The Fund invests in companies that require seed capital investment. Should companies or individuals seeking to form companies respond to The Real Time Results Challenge thereby creating solutions that LGF believes hold promise, the potential exists for the companies to receive investment from the Healthcare Innovation Fund. Selected finalist(s) may also be eligible to receive in-kind prizes, such as free co-working space, a spot on a startup accelerator program, startup business services and more items, subject to availability.

• What innovations can help consumers reduce their out-of-pocket healthcare costs, thereby helping ensure that financial issues aren’t delaying needed or preventive care?
• Can the innovation tailor to the needs of existing patients based on their individual health records on file in order to create customized preventative care plans/advice/etc.?

 

Many healthcare innovations reduce costs indirectly (for example, population health initiatives that reduce costs by reducing the need for health services through education and preventive care). For this challenge, preference will be given to innovations specifically geared toward innovations likely to have the most significant impact on existing hospital patient populations.

We look forward to working with creative thinkers to develop fresh solutions to ensure a healthy future for patients.

Prize Package
The winning team in The Affordable Choices Challenge will have the opportunity to meet with HCA-Tulane’s senior executives in the business development and operations teams – as well as HCA’s Parallon partners in supply chain and information technology – and receive a facility tour, following the finale. Winning team may also be eligible to receive in-kind prizes, such as free co-working space, a spot on a startup accelerator program, startup business services and more items, subject to availability.