Discussion
Our experience demonstrated that automated technology is useful to assist healthcare providers in identification of potentially trafficked persons, improving the likelihood of care provision.
Methods
Octavia, a software application implemented in 3 California hospitals, scanned all patient encounters for social and clinical determinants that are consistent predictors of HT. Any encounter that matched these criteria was forwarded to a specially trained High-Risk Navigator who screened the data and when able, made direct contact in an effort to build rapport and possibly provide victim assistance.
Results
During the observation period, the automated scanning of hospital patient encounters resulted in a notable increase in the detection of persons who had a likelihood of being trafficked when compared to a pre-project baseline.