Government
Bringing the power of technology to improve the value of health and human services, help lower costs, and have a meaningful impact on peoples’ lives.
The State of Telehealth, and its Role in the Fight Against Opioid Use Disorder
Telehealth is ready to take center stage. Telehealth is in the fight against opioid use disorder. But are consumers and healthcare providers ready to start giving and receiving care via their computers and smartphones, and are private health plans ready to pay for it? Based on recent media reports tracking sentiment toward the technology, telehealth is definitely on an upward trend
From automated to comprehensive: What child welfare organizations need to succeed
Of all the programs and services regulated, administered or delivered by government, there are arguably none more important than the delivery of child welfare services: child protection, foster care and adoption.
Good Design is Good Business in Government: Design Partnership with the New York City Department of Social Services
Telehealth is ready to take center stage. Telehealth is in the fight against opioid use disorder. But are consumers and healthcare providers ready to start giving and receiving care via their computers and smartphones, and are private health plans ready to pay for it? Based on recent media reports tracking sentiment toward the technology, telehealth […]
Helping Montgomery County Juvenile Court Improve Efficiencies and Outcomes
Located in Dayton, Ohio, the Juvenile Court is a division of the Montgomery County, Ohio Court of Common Pleas. In addition to two judges and nine magistrates, the court employs bailiffs, court reporters, judicial technicians and a large administrative staff. The court receives almost 16,000 referrals a year. They serve 120 youth per week in […]
Finding new ways to impact lives: Social Programs in the Cognitive Era
Cognitive computing refers to systems that can learn at scale, reason with purpose and interact with humans naturally. These systems are designed to combine human intelligence with a range of artificial intelligence capabilities such as machine learning, natural language processing, and image analysis. This powerful combination amplifies the impact of what humans and machines can […]
Consumer-Driven Health and Human Services: Nothing about us without us
The phrase “nothing about us without us” is a centuries-old political slogan declaring that no policy should be created without the full and direct participation of the people who are impacted by that policy. It was adopted by South African disability activists Michael Masutha and William Rowland in the 1990s, and became a call to […]
IBM Watson Health Helps New York City Improve the Process of Applying for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
The average caseworker juggles somewhere between 20 and 30 cases at a time. That’s compared to the 10 to 17 recommended by the Child Welfare League of America. And because they’re juggling those cases, caseworkers are able to spend about 18% of their time face to face with clients. They spend almost twice as much […]
New York City Human Resources Administration Improves Application Process for SNAP
Like most human services programs, the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA) was challenged by growing caseloads. They needed to find a way to improve service delivery while addressing increased caseloads. They decided to transform their screening tool, ACCESS NYC, so that multiple in-person visits to one of its offices would no longer be […]
Visions, Values, and Strategies for Government Health and Human Services
When President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced his intention to create the Social Security program on 8 June 1934, it was not the first time that a government had formed a social insurance program designed to pay retired workers a continuing income after retirement. Germany, the United Kingdom and other countries were years ahead of the […]
Government Health and Human Services: Visions, values and strategies for the future
Technology has had a profound impact on the administration and delivery of health and human services programs. Landline telephones are one of the oldest forms of technology used to communicate with clients. More recently, the internet, email, telephone conferencing, video conferencing, mobile devices, and texting have transformed the way professionals communicate with clients and with […]
Harrow Council reducing costs and empowering citizens with help from IBM Watson Health
Harrow Council in northwest London serves around 250,000 people, in one of London’s most religiously and ethnically diverse boroughs. It is also home to an increasingly large population over the age of 85, a group that is expected to double in size in the next 20 years. Tasked with reducing its social services budget by […]
Transforming social services: How cognitive technology is helping to protect the most vulnerable
Health and human service programs are riddled with complexity and uncertainty. The professionals who work in these programs face significant headwinds on their path to progress. Administrators face pressure to transform social services programs while improving outcomes, expanding access to quality care and controlling costs.