Camden Coalition’s annual Putting Care at the Center conference brings together providers, policymakers, researchers and more who work to improve care delivery for individuals with complex health and social needs. This year, Waymark’s Care Operations, Care Delivery and Data Science teams had the opportunity to share how our predictive technology and community-based teams are preventing costly emergency care for Medicaid patients.

Led by Waymark’s VP of Data Science and AI Sadiq Patel, Care Coordinator Lead Abum Ezeonwu, and VP of Northwestern Operations Jeremy Schifberg, the workshop presented real-world data on how shifting from traditional risk-based prioritization to benefit-based approaches can more effectively reduce acute care utilization. Attendees were invited to explore how a benefit-based approach could help community-based care teams maximize their impact with limited resources, and collaboratively discuss the challenges and questions that arise out of implementing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools in complex care delivery workflows.

In addition to presenting this valuable work, Sadiq presented a plenary session on AI applications, ethics, and opportunities in complex care. Alongside Health Hats’ Daniel Van Leeuwen and Camden Coalitions’ Aaron Truchil, Sadiq discussed the potential AI has to improve care efficiency and quality, and the work Waymark is doing to counter industry concerns around bias and transparency.

While at the conference, Waymark’s team had the opportunity to learn from their peers through keynote speeches and interactive workshops. Some key topics and takeaways:

• The impact of integrating data and clinical insights with lived experience when reporting complex care research
• How healthcare leaders are thinking about the recent federal policies impacting Medicaid and Medicare recipients
• The value of leveraging blog posts, social media content, and community hubs like barbershops and nail salons to connect patients with resources and care

Thank you to the Camden Coalition for organizing such a great event, and thank you to Sadiq, Abum, and Jeremy for your work in advancing the evidence base in Medicaid care delivery – and for translating that work into actionable takeaways that positively impact care teams and the patients they serve.