Amazon Web Services has committed an additional $20 million to its health equity initiative to support companies tackling disparities through cloud technology.
The Health Equity Initiative was initially launched in 2021 as a three-year, $40 million commitment in cloud credits and technical expertise. To date, the program has supported nearly 230 organizations across 28 countries addressing disparities.
The initiative was introduced on the heels of COVID-19, when it became apparent that support for the social determinants of health and community resources was critical. “Technology really emerged during this time in a heightened way as a connector, or being able to fill a gap in equity,” Danielle Morris, global health equity lead at AWS, told Fierce Healthcare.
As part of the latest announcement, AWS also added a new funding area to address the impact of climate change on health, recognizing the environment creates factors that can affect human health.
AWS will now prioritize projects that are increasing affordable, high-quality health services, promoting resilient communities by increasing access to responsive social and community support and mitigating the impact of climate change on health and quality of life.
The projects being funded so far range from building more diverse health data stores to using AI for early stroke diagnoses. Participants include startups, nonprofits and large enterprises. In addition to the cloud credits and technical expertise provided through the program, AWS also works with companies to help them develop sustainable long-term business plans, Morris said.
The benefit of using the cloud is a reduced need for extensive, on-premise infrastructure, which ultimately leads to cost savings for customers, per Morris: “It allows them to pay for the resources as they use them.” That approach prompts resource efficiency and optimization, she argues. The cloud also helps store and manage vast amounts of patient data securely.
AWS also encourages its customers to think about minimizing and reducing bias in their algorithms and inspecting social determinants of health data to identify populations with the worst disparities, Morris said.
Folx Health, a virtual provider focused on LGBTQ+ health, is among the organizations to have received funding. With support from the initiative, Folx grew its subscriber base by more than 40% and expanded its geographic reach from 26 states to 50. Folx runs on AWS and relies on the AWS cloud to power services like content delivery, website hosting, partner integrations, data storage, identity management and serverless tasks.
“AWS allowed us to create a single, coherent product by coordinating the activities of over a dozen third party services, and to do so in a way that safeguards the privacy and security of our members,” Ryan Scharer, chief technology officer of Folx, said in a press release.
Patient engagement platform Healthvana also leverages the cloud to send more than 20,000 messages a month to help patients adhere to medical regimens and better communicate with their providers. Through the health equity initiative, Healthvana has used the cloud to support more than 500,000 patients and more than 400,000 PrEP-related health visits in the past two years.
In 2022, AWS launched its Healthcare Accelerator for startups based in the U.S. with existing customers and revenue looking to focus on health equity. The program had its first cohort and has since been put on pause, according to Morris.
Those seeking to solve the health equity gap can apply for the program through the AWS Health Equity Initiative page. Award winners can get up to $250,000 in cloud credits. Applications are accepted three times a year, with the next cycle closing March 31.
“There’s a great demand for solutions that are addressing health equity and we only see demand increasing for technology as a key tool for addressing disparities,” Morris said.