Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health launched a new tool July 13 that scans EHR data to improve vaccine equity for patient populations most vulnerable to COVID-19.
The COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Index, developed under Sutter Health's Institute for Advancing Health Equity, uses EHR data to identify high-risk patient groups and determines what additional proportion of an at-risk community needs vaccine protection to offset its disproportionate risk, according to a July 13 news release.
Sutter created the tool to help combat the disproportionate effect of COVID-19 on communities of color; insights the tool generates are guiding Sutter's targeted strategies to close vaccine equity gaps and redirect resources to patients most at risk.
With the support of the tool, Sutter has rolled out a series of pilots and programs, including distributing vaccines with mobile vans and pop-up sites and catering to vulnerable patients by phone and text messages to help address vaccine hesitancy and help navigate the vaccination process.