Machine Learning, Real-Time Data App Rates COVID-19 Exposure Risk

January 27, 2021 - The Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI) has released an app that uses machine learning and real-time data to measure COVID-19 exposure risk in Dallas County residents.

The MyPCI App will aim to help individuals make more informed choices by providing on-demand, location-based personal risk assessment of potential COVID-19 exposure. The app is free to register and use, and doesn’t require personal health information or track an individual’s mobile phone data.

The app is powered by an innovative machine learning algorithm, as well as geomapping and hot-spotting technology. The tool uses daily updated data from the Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) on confirmed positive COVID-19 cases and the population density in a given neighborhood.

Based on density and distances to those who are infected nearby, MyPCI produces a personal risk score.

After users register for the MyPCI app, they will provide individual location information that the tool will use only to generate a risk assessment – the data is never shared. Once individuals register, they can simply login daily and the app will provide a COVID-19 personal risk level score, along with information to help individuals make informed decisions about how to manage risk.

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“Proximity continues to remain one of the most important factors in pandemic management and personal protection,” said Steve Miff, PhD, PCCI’s President and CEO.

“While we wait to receive a vaccine, we can control our own risk of exposure and help bend the curve. The MyPCI App is a simple to use tool that will give you an understanding of the COVID-19 risks in your vicinity and reinforce the need for social distancing, face covering and hand washing.”

PCCI built the app on the PCCI COVID-19 Proximity Index, designed for the Parkland Health & Hospital System. The Proximity Index examined the proximal risk score of patients who were scheduled for in-person medical appointments. If a person was determined high or very high risk, the appointment was changed from in-person to virtual to protect both providers and patients.

Data analyses from over 500,000 Parkland patients indicates that an individual with very high or high proximity index had a seven times higher risk of getting infected. The success of this program prompted additional development of the tool, now available to the public through the MyPCI app.

“I am pleased that PCCI is making this service available to the public, as it uses the same tool which has helped us at Parkland better care for the Dallas County community by providing important information that indicates one’s risk for developing COVID,” said Brett Moran, MD, Chief Medical Informatics Officer for Parkland. 

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“Parkland and PCCI have been using these algorithms from early in the pandemic to effectively provide outreach to high-risk individuals which helps them as well as their family, friends and the community at large.”

To ensure all residents of Dallas County have access to the app, MyPCI is also available at the Dallas Health and Human Services Department.

“We have been pleased throughout this pandemic to be partnering with PCCI so that we can use their cutting-edge technology and data applications to address COVID-19,” said Dr. Philip Huang, MD, MPH, Director of Health and Human Services for Dallas County.

“This latest tool is another example of how Dallas County benefits from the tremendous resources and partnerships we have here.”

The Diocese of Dallas Catholic Schools is an early adopter of the MyPCI app. The diocese represents more than 61,000 students in 38 different schools, many of which are in Dallas County. Parents who use the app will receive information that will enable them to work collaboratively with teachers and administrators.

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“We are always looking to innovate and partnering with PCCI on this initiative is a great opportunity to empower our parents and families with information that makes then engaged partners with our team in containing the virus and keeping our staff and students safe,” said Matt Vereecke, Superintendent of Schools, Catholic Diocese of Dallas.

The chief aim of the MyPCI app is to help Dallas County residents make the best, most informed decisions possible during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The key for all residents of Dallas County to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 is to register and use the MyPCI App as quickly as possible,” said Miff.

“While we are very encouraged by the vaccination initiatives, they will take time take, which means now is not the time to let our guard down. The pandemic is still raging, so we need to use personal information and awareness about our own individual and household risks to re-enforce and manage the things that we can control while we wait for broad implementation of vaccines.”