When COVID-19 shut down the country, federal government agencies expedited digital transformation changes to overcome the unique challenges presented by the pandemic. The shift to online information sharing and interactions at an unprecedented pace and scale gave certain agencies an enhanced ability to use data sharing and artificial intelligence (AI) to combat health disparities.

In an interview with MeriTalk, Lisa Slaughter, Senior Vice President of Federal Services at Maximus, discussed how government agencies can better use, share, and leverage data and AI to improve public health.

“The shutdown of face-to-face activity demanded that we share whatever information was available to help stem the tide of the pandemic and find the path back to normal,” said Slaughter. “The requirement to share data certainly put a strain on aging Federal infrastructures and the agencies’ capacity and flexibility to interface with each other… From this, agencies saw the value of modernizing and want to accelerate their move to the cloud, employ more artificial intelligence solutions, and ensure data security.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) worked with Maximus to collect and analyze data from local, state, and federal agencies in order “to find, control, and contain the next hotspots, overcome the next supply chain shortfall, and help communities with the greatest need.”

Maximus’s Center for Health Innovation and public health team is utilizing this type of data to inform AI models to better understand complex risk factors for the disease and provide insight on communities at the highest risk for health impacts. As a result, state and local and federal agencies are able to systematically break down health disparities by unlocking patient data to provide a better customer experience to patients in underserved communities.

“We’re continuously updating our customer engagement center and business process outsourcing technologies to improve efficiencies to address the needs of our customers,” said Slaughter. “Now more than ever, we’re enhancing the customer experience because we have real-time data… We guide our government clients toward the experience they want constituents to have; in the long run, it saves agencies time and energy.”

The pandemic has presented agencies with a multitude of challenges. However, by developing better methods for sharing data and applying insights, agencies can help optimize the customer experience and overcome not just today’s healthcare challenges but mitigate long term disparities.

Learn more about using technology to move your agency forward here.