Inland Empire Health Plan honored by Esri for setting new geographic information systems standards

Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) is one of 200 national and global organizations who earned recognition as a 2024 Special Advancement in Geographic Information System (SAG) recipient during tech giant Esri’s annual User Conference in San Diego on July 15.

IEHP was selected among a pool of 100,000 submissions for setting new standards throughout the geographic information systems (GIS) community for its work in monitoring and reporting on the adequacy of its provider network.

“We are so proud of our quality program informatics team for the work they have done and for playing a pivotal role in improving our member data,” said IEHP Chief Executive Officer Jarrod McNaughton. “They have created an incredible mapping system that will aid in providing vital care services to our members.”

This is the second time the health plan has received a SAG award from Esri, first earning the recognition in 2018 for a location allocation project that helped determine facility location and demand points.

This year, the team was recognized for designing a process that accurately, quickly and efficiently assesses the IEHP provider network in relation to members using time/distance data points provided by state agencies like the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and current Esri GIS technologies.

“This information is used to improve the network by identifying areas of opportunity within specific geographic areas,” said Eric Dick, an IEHP informaticist. “This helps IEHP provide the most accessible care for our members.”

IEHP utilizes GIS for several of its year-round initiatives. For example, members, providers, facilities and team members are “geolocated” daily using Esri GIS Extract, Transform, Load (ELT) technology to generate live and up-to-date reporting data in the case of an emergency. The goal is to ensure the welfare and safety of the entire IEHP community.

Other GIS use examples include:

• Identifying potential care gaps based on current HEDIS/MCAS performance measures.
• Targeting potential gaps in service by identifying IEHP membership care needs by location.
• Find and identify available billboards and bus shelters with a high visibility rate for IEHP-related messaging and services.

“The way that this GIS award looks at network adequacy, the way it is scalable truly impacts our mission, vision and values,“ said Darren Moser, an informaticist for IEHP. “It shows that we are doing the right thing. We are trying to build something that is a useful tool for our team members as they help our members and providers.”

Inland Empire Health Plan serves 1.5 million members in Riverside and San Bernardino counties with the goal of providing avenues of optimal health to all who call the I.E. home.

To learn more about the organization and its mission, go to iehp.org.

With a mission to heal and inspire the human spirit, Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) is one of the top 10 largest Medicaid health plans, the largest not-for-profit Medicare-Medicaid public health plan in the country, and for the third year in a row, certified as A Great Place To Work®. Founded in 1996, IEHP supports more than 1.5 million Riverside and San Bernardino County residents enrolled in Medicaid or IEHP DualChoice (those with both Medi-Cal and Medicare). As of 2024, IEHP also offers Covered California plans, further ensuring health care access for even more IE residents. Today, IEHP has a robust network of quality doctors throughout our two counties and nearly 4,000 team members who are fully committed to the vision: We will not rest until our communities enjoy optimal care and vibrant health. To learn more, go to iehp.org.