CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cordata Healthcare Innovations is expanding its efforts to address complex healthcare and social challenges through the commercialization of IDENTITY, a technology developed by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (Cincinnati Children’s) to improve outcomes for children in protective custody (i.e., foster care). The IDENTITY collaboration is a crucial step toward improving the coordination between community and healthcare organizations.
Today, nearly half a million children in the United States are in protective custody and at higher risk for medical, dental, developmental, behavioral, and mental health concerns. Due to the different methods and technologies used by healthcare providers and caseworkers to store records, information is often lost or inaccessible, leading to information disparities that are unique to foster care.
Healthcare providers often do not know that their patient is in protective custody; hence they may not know who should provide consent for treatment or when medical information can be shared. They also could be missing social and emotional history that is critical to developing a comprehensive plan to address their patient’s health needs.
Meanwhile, case managers do not have the healthcare information needed to ensure new caregivers are aware of critical medical information, such as medications and allergies, to reduce treatment risk and to prevent gaps in healthcare delivery such as missed appointments, missed vaccinations, and proper care coordination.
A team of researchers and physicians at Cincinnati Children’s worked with Hamilton County Job and Family Services to close the gap in information and remove technical barriers. They developed secure information-sharing software that displays real-time data to both medical teams and case workers, allowing each stakeholder to have the information necessary to properly care for and support this vulnerable population.
The team at Cincinnati Children’s includes Sarah J. Beal, PhD, Associate Professor in Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology and Scientific Director of Child Welfare Research of the CHECK Foster Care Center; Judith W. Dexheimer, PhD, Associate Professor in Emergency Medicine and Biomedical Informatics; and Mary V. Greiner, MD, MS, Associate Professor in General and Community Pediatrics and Medical Director of the CHECK Foster Care Center at Cincinnati Children’s.
Dr. Greiner noted that “ensuring optimal health for children in protective custody requires a collaboration between the healthcare system and the child welfare system. IDENTITY opens the doors for rapid information exchange and communication, allowing everyone to be on the same page to provide the best possible care.”
“We are honored to have been selected by Cincinnati Children’s to commercialize this important technology,” said Gary Winzenread, Cordata’s President and CEO. “The mission undertaken by Drs. Beal, Dexheimer and Greiner to overcome barriers impeding the appropriate care of children in protective custody aligns closely with Cordata’s mission to improve outcomes for complex and at-risk populations in every community. In addition, the rising population of children in protective custody nationwide is being driven, in part, by the addiction and mental health epidemics, which Cordata has been actively addressing with providers, states, and local communities across the country.”
About Cordata Healthcare Innovations, LLC
Cordata Healthcare Innovations is a Software as a Service (SaaS) company connecting communities and healthcare organizations to better serve at-risk populations by coordinating treatment and community resources. Cordata’s core technology platform provides specific solutions that improve outcomes for patients with complex diseases, individuals battling addiction or mental illness and children in foster care. More information can be found at cordatahealth.com/identity.
About Cincinnati Children’s
Cincinnati Children's ranks among the top five in the nation in U.S. News & World Report's 2021-22 listing of Best Children's Hospitals. A nonprofit, academic medical center established in 1883, Cincinnati Children's is one of the top three recipients of pediatric research grants from the National Institutes of Health. The medical center is internationally recognized for improving child health and transforming delivery of care through fully integrated, globally recognized research, education, and innovation. Additional information about technologies developed at Cincinnati Children's may be found at Innovation.CincinnatiChildrens.org
