Contakt World (CSE:HELP) Technologies Corp is teaming up with a venerable US health institution to help address social disparities in healthcare with a new data project.
The company announced an agreement in principle with Satcher Health Leadership Institute (SHLI) at the Morehouse School of Medicine to help collect de-identified demographic data for the Health Equity Tracker Project, it said in a statement.
Data collection will be done through Contakt World (CSE:HELP)’s Softare-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform Smart Health RM and other products and services provided by the company, such as its Engagency.
READ: Contakt World appoints commercial and software expert Ricardo Lachac as chief revenue officer
The agreement updates the previously announced collaboration between Contakt World (CSE:HELP) and SHLI now that Health Equity Tracker is operational, the company told investors.
Health Equity Tracker (HET) was designed to improve collection and transparency for key demographic data to address disparities in healthcare and ultimately improve outcomes for more vulnerable populations, Contakt World said.
The platform was designed through SHLI's Health Equity Task Force, which involved thought leadership from leaders all over the country in health equity, public health, healthcare, pandemic response, epidemiology, members of Congress in the US, along with Contakt World's co-founder and board member, Robin Coleman.
Justin Beck, Contakt World’s chief visionary officer, told shareholders that the company first learned about the systematic omission or destruction of racial and ethnic data in a podcast conversation with Daniel Dawes, a leading voice in healthcare leader and the SHLI’s executive director.
"National health equity leader Daniel Dawes teaches us that you can't fix problems you don't understand via data. The systemic omission or destruction of racial and ethnic data in public health and healthcare systems mean that disparities often aren't addressed politically - sometimes by design,” Beck said.
"Health agencies, organizations like National Association of County and City Health Officials and public health professionals prioritize health equity in all they do. We hope our data partnership with HET continues to distinguish Contakt World, much like our innovation around communications and community engagement does," Beck added. “I believe we can transform the way health agencies and providers connect with their communities, which could improve health outcomes, especially for the hard to reach who suffer from disparities.”
Data will help identify and encourage underserved populations
Dawes called Contakt World a “critical partner” in pushing for actionable solutions.
"Now that the HET is operational, Smart Health RM can help collect de-identified data from public health agencies and healthcare where gaps exist as a data partner for Health Equity Tracker. Engagency can also help to identify underserved populations and drive them to their local health department or provider, leveraging Contakt World's agency partnership with Unified Partnerships via iHeartMedia."
Contakt World said that will run a series of targeted advertisements for people who are vaccine-hesitant in hard-to-reach areas for SHLI in a project that includes funding from Google.org and Gilead Sciences.
Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas