Objective: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana (BCBSLA) seeks to improve health outcomes for its members and is gaining better insight on persistent challenges affecting them, such as chronic conditions, utilization practices and medication adherence. One approach BCBSLA is using is incorporating Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) data into existing workflows to better understand the health barriers that impact their communities.

Methods: Representing hundreds of disparate social factors, this information comes from multiple sources, including government agencies and private companies. Examples include the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 500 Cities: Census Tract-Level Data, Data, and Smart Location Database. Disparate data was normalized and processed to create a final set compatible with the current BCBSLA enterprise-wide data warehouse. SDOH data was then incorporated into existing programs and predictive models. The first effort using the new data resource was to understand the gaps in childhood immunization status and behavioral health.

Results: SDOH data enabled BCBSLA to identify census tracts in parishes that were below the state’s overall immunization rate and assign potential reasons for the observed inequities. Overall, Louisiana CIS Combination 2 (DTaP, IPV, MMR, HiB, HepB, VZV) immunization rate is 74.28%. However, 45% of parishes were below the state immunization rate with the majority being socioeconomically poor. For census tracts with no SDOH barriers, immunization rates were higher and primarily driven by provider intervention. Similarly, BCBSLA used SDOH data to identify social barriers within parishes where prevalence of chronic conditions is high and where behavioral health prevalence rates need to be addressed.

Conclusions: By augmenting existing analytics with SDOH data, BCBSLA can incorporate this newly generated evidence into interventions that can contribute to BCBSLA improving the effectiveness of care for its members.