Announcing HCC in Python and Datalog

May 27, 2017 in Technology

The CMS division of HHS produces a freely available algorithm for determining the diagnosis risk of cost for beneficiaries. The problem with this freely available algorithm is that it is written in a technology, SAS , that is not freely usable.1 We at Algorex Health have reimplemented the HCC algorithm in Python with two aims in mind. First, we want to promote truly free algorithms for value-based analytics, contributing to a community ethos of open-source population health libraries.
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Algorex Health Technologies

A blog for technology, policy, and grievances in the Open Health World

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Algorex Health COVID-19 Kit

Apr 4, 2020

Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) play a significant role in the health of individuals – and as a result have large-scale impact on the revenue operations of healthcare organizations and negative impacts on overall health outcomes in populations. Individuals who are disproportionally affected by SDOH factors are more vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19 and to the economic shockwaves that result from pandemic response. Healthcare organizations in certain regions of the United States will experience long-term, negative effects in a similarly disproportionate manner, particularly in terms of growth in Medicaid populations and increased demand for social supports.

Spotlight: A Data Driven Approach to Reducing High ER Utilization by Deploying Non-Clinical Resources During Covid-19

Apr 4, 2020

As health systems actively mobilize to prepare for the growing number of COVID-19 cases, many changes in day-to-day practices are occurring in order to ready the hospitals for this global pandemic. Some of the courses of action taken over the last few weeks include the cancellation of elective procedures, a swift scaling in the use of virtual care when appropriate, and pivots in specialties to bring more resources to departments where it is needed, just to name a few.

Spotlight: Addressing Social Determinants of Health to Improve Maternal Outcomes

Mar 3, 2020

A new public health policy limiting the number of people allowed in the delivery room with a mother during labor to just one has introduced a new set of challenges in the era of COVID-19. For many moms-to-be, this means — if they want a partner or family member to be there — their doula won’t be able to join them. While the immediate reaction to this scenario for many is likely to be disappointment, for others it could represent a serious risk factor to their outcome.

The COVID-19 Economy

Mar 3, 2020

The COVID-19 Economy Across the United States communities are starting to implement necessary COVID-19 mitigation strategies focused on social distancing that necessitate the closing of schools, bars, restaurants and the cancellation of events. When looking at the risk of COVID-19, there are the clear medical risk factors; old age, cardiovascular disease, smoking, travel history. But the social distancing measures may also exacerbate worsening gaps in medical outcomes caused by social, economic, and environmental determinants of health, SDOH.

Helping First

Feb 2, 2020

Helping First: As we work with groups across the country to deploy non-clinical programs to health plans, health systems, and community benefit organizations – there is one common theme that has emerged as the key factor between the status quo and greater-than-expected patient and member engagement. That common theme is, quite simply, an offer to help first. The dominant strategy in social needs deployment today starts with assessing patients or members using a standardized screening tool.

SDOH Podcast

Jan 1, 2020

SDOH Podcast: Hear our co-founder Jacob Luria discuss turning data to action with the Massachusetts Health Data Consortium. Courtesy of Massachusetts Health Data Consortium

Algorex Health to support the New England Society for Health Strategy

Jul 7, 2019

The New England Society for Health Strategy (NESHS) has been a great forum for innovation and the development of novel programs to support the engagement, care, and management of patients and health plan members. As such, we are proud and excited to sponsor the organization and be the Sponsor of the Month for July. For more information about NESHS: https://www.neshs.org/

Layering Maps and Data

Mar 3, 2019

Layering Maps and Data: At Algorex Health, we make a lot of maps and get a lot of questions about the tools we use to make them. So, I thought I would briefly describe our process and the tools we use. I covered the basics of geographic charting in a past blog post and some of that terminology will be repeated here. We use to two primary data visualization systems at Algorex Health both of which were chosen for their support withthin the Python/Jupyter stack, ease of use, and/or aesthetic flexibility:

Flying to Orlando

Feb 2, 2019

When is Data Big? This week the health world turns to Orlando for the annual conference of the Health Information Management Systems Society annual conference. it is absolutely one of the biggest events in health IT and one of the top 25 trade shows in the entire country. How many people attend HIMSS each year? We could search one of hundreds of press releases about the event from exhibitors. We could even visit the link above from Trade Show news.

A Practo-Theoretical Introduction to Logic Programming

Nov 11, 2018

This post is part of a larger series of posts that examines the use of declarative logic programming in implementing a healthcare-specific risk score called the HCC Risk Score. The scope of this series runs through such topics as healthcare-intensive dissection of SAS code and translation into Python and PyDatalog a generic introduction to Logic Programming with Prolog and SQL (this post) discussions on the role of declarative programming in a technical organization the difference between forward-chaining and backward-chaining as an implementation strategy in logical/declarative technologies the choice of a forward-chaining embedded language called CHR for re-implementing our code from PyDatalog This post has the following characteristics: