LexisNexis Risk Solutions launches COVID-19 data resource

LexisNexis Risk Solutions is stepping up to help the U.S. healthcare industry’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has launched a free COVID-19 Data Resource Center, which identifies at-risk populations and potential care capacity gaps in provider gaps by county.

By combining its own data and analytics with those of other industry stakeholders, the company created insights that can be used by healthcare organizations, public health officials and health researchers to help allocate resources to the populations with the greatest need.

The COVID-19 Data Resource Center features heat maps with insights that identify at-risk populations and correlated gaps in provider coverage. Each county is assigned a percentile rank on a scale of 0 (low risk) to 100 (high risk) across various parameters. The map is updated regularly to quickly address the care needs of the community.

The initial release focused on identifying which communities are most at risk for poor health outcomes due to COVID-19, and which communities are in most need of critical care resources to mitigate the virus' impact. 

LexisNexis Risk Solutions defines high-risk population in the COVID-19 Data Resource Center as the proportion of the county where population is 60 years old or older, with two or more high-risk COVID-19 comorbidities. The company leveraged its de-identified claims assets to understand where comorbidities exist among the 60-plus population. It then applied county-level socioeconomic factors to identify which counties have socioeconomic needs that, if unaddressed, are most likely to prevent optimal health outcomes.

To identify which areas are most in need of resources, LexisNexis Risk Solutions utilized its de-identified medical claims and provider datasets, along with data from industry partners, to look at where providers with expertise to treat COVID-19 diagnoses were located, which hospitals might have the capacity to treat COVID-19 patients, and which hospitals have enough ICU beds to treat these patients. 

LexisNexis Risk Solutions said this information helps counties understand their level of preparedness to meet the potential needs of high-risk populations as compared with their peers, and provides a line of sight into opportunities to expand resources.

"LexisNexis Risk Solutions is committed to supporting the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic by partnering with key healthcare players and leveraging our own data assets and technology to provide timely insights that can help those on the front lines provide care and resources to at-risk populations," said Josh Schoeller, senior vice president and general manager of LexisNexis Risk Solutions Health Care. "Our hope is that these resources can help health care, public health and policy leaders make important decisions to enable the best possible care for our most vulnerable populations."

LexisNexis Risk Solutions is open to collaborating with organizations interested in contributing additional data to help establish an even more comprehensive aggregated view of populations linked to their risk factors and potential care needs.

To learn more, visit the LexisNexis Risk Solutions COVID-19 Data Resource Center.