Almost all of the healthcare implementations of Geographic Information System (GIS) being discussed at the 2022 Esri User Conference would not be possible if GIS data was not shared so readily by government organizations. When combined, these disparate datasets lead to important health insights that would have been difficult or impossible to obtain using non-GIS methods. The net impact: healthier and safer communities that make better use of precious local resources.
GIS Data Freely Available
Attending the Esri User Conference has opened my eyes to wealth of GIS data that is made freely available by government organizations at the city, county, state, and federal levels. I saw numerous examples where GIS experts combined information from organizations like:
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- United Sates Census Bureau
- Counties for water quality
- Cities for zoning permits
Each organization not only makes an interactive map available for the public to explore the information, they also offer an easily downloadable dataset that can be imported into your own GIS application. This allows end-users to easily combine that dataset with their own. Some government organizations even offer an API so that their GIS information can be used in near real-time.
By combining datasets from multiple sources and using a geographic area as a common point of reference (ie: a 1 square mile block or the boundaries of a county), public health users are able to gain insights and infer new relationships. I had the opportunity to discuss some of these unique insights and learn about a variety of healthcare use cases that has a positive impact on the health of communities.
Graniteville Train Accident
In 2005, two Norfolk Southern trains collided in Graniteville South Carolina. One of the trains was transporting chlorine gas and ruptured. The toxic plume killed 9 people and sent 250 to hospitals. GIS was key to minimizing the impact of the chlorine and was what the multiple responding agencies used to coordinate their emergency efforts.
By combining topology, weather, and city zoning data, responders were able to evacuate the buildings that were most likely to be in the path of the chlorine cloud and able to route those injured to the healthcare facilities in a safe zone.
SIDS and SUID Tracking
San Bernardino County presented their work tracking and monitoring Sudden Infant Death (SIDS) and Sudden Unexplained Infant Death (SUID) cases. They gathered the instances of SIDS and SUID, then used GIS to overlay potential contributing factors including: socioeconomic information, water quality information, and distance to healthcare facilities.
They also compared their own SIDS/SUID rates vs neighboring counties to see if they were better or worse. Unfortunately, it turned out they were much worse than those in the surrounding area, but by sharing this insight and their collected data with local stakeholders, San Bernardino is looking so spur action on addressing this challenge.
Network Adequacy and Proactive Outreach
Texas Children’s Health Plan discussed with me how they use their GIS platform for network adequacy – mapping out the healthcare coverage vs the location of their members. By updating and sharing this information in near-real time with other internal departments, they can react quickly when physicians retire or move their practices.
They also use their GIS platform to proactively reach out to members that have been impacted by natural disasters like hurricanes and floods – something that is becoming more common in the Houston area where they operate. By combining NOAA and other datasets with their own member data, Texas Children’s Health Plan can proactively reach out to their members to let them know where they can safely go for healthcare that is outside of the disaster zone.
Other Health GIS Use Cases
Other healthcare organizations presented and discussed their use of GIS including:
- How a large pharmacy retailer plans to use GIS to increase corporate resiliency and improve their community response when a disruptive event occurs in an area they operate in
- How local volunteer groups are using GIS and USDA data to identify food insecurity and better direct resources to address that gap
- How a provider organization is using GIS to better plan for ED workload
Sharing is Key
Underpinning all these deployments of GIS in healthcare is the free and open sharing of data on the inbound side prior to the analysis and on the outbound side once the analysis is complete. By being open with their data, governments are making it possible for end-users to gain valuable insights that can better protect communities and make more efficient use of precious emergency response resources.
In a way, the GIS community is in an endless pay-it-forward loop.
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