Can Digital Health Help People Prepare for Extreme Weather Events?

CVS Health is identifying at-risk members of Aetna health plans of upcoming heat waves and connecting them with resources for care management.

CVS Health has launched a digital health program aimed at consumers affected by heat waves and other extreme weather events.

The company is using a data analytics platform to identify at-risk patients, such as those with chronic health conditions, when an excessive weather event is expected to occur in their area. The service is currently available to members of Aetna health plans, with plans to expand to CVS Pharmacy and Minute Clinic locations.

“Extreme heat kills more Americans each year than all other weather events combined,” Dan Knecht, vice president and chief clinical innovation officer for CVS Caremark, said in a press release. “In addition to fatalities driven by heat strokes, extreme heat can worsen chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.”

With more health systems and hospitals using digital health tools to connect with patients outside the hospital or doctor’s office and boost engagement, strategies like this could become more popular. Healthcare organizations need these types of outreach to improve care management and coordination and address preventive health and public health issues.

Technology plays a key role in these programs. Data analytics and AI tools can help care providers quickly identify at-risk patients and even send tailored e-mail, text, or phone messages. They can also alert primary and emergency care providers, including hospital emergency departments and clinics, to prepare for increased traffic.

Looking even further, these platforms could be used to synch in police, fire, ambulance and EMS departments as well as telehealth programs.

Through the CVS Health program, Aetna care teams can identify and contact at-risk members as many as seven days ahead of an extreme weather event and connect them to the appropriate resources, such as Oak Street Health clinics and other urgent care clinics, cooling centers, and pharmacies.

The company is first focusing on heat waves, with excessive heat alerts and pargeted outreach for those affected by hot weather. It plans to expand the platform in the fall to patients susceptible to reduced lung function, asthma and cardiac problems caused by excessive exposure to air pollution.

This type of program could also be expanded to cover extreme cold weather, smog alerts (or other alerts tied to air quality), wildfires, floods, dangerous storms, even epidemics and other outbreaks.