CarePath

CarePath is a privacy-first service navigator that transforms a person's situation into an explainable, prioritized action plan for healthcare, food, and utility assistance.

Why it exists

People frequently miss essential assistance because program information is fragmented, eligibility language is difficult, and applications require repetitive paperwork. CarePath moves beyond a link directory: it identifies likely options, explains every match, lists documents to gather, and links back to authoritative sources.

Features

• Conversational, plain-language intake
• Deterministic, explainable program matching
• Three runnable demo scenarios
• Healthcare, food, and utility assistance
• Document-text signal extraction without storage
• Persistent saved plans using SQLite
• Official-source links and confidence/status indicators
• Responsive, accessible interface
• OpenAPI documentation at /docs
• Automated API tests

Architecture

React + Vite client
        |
        | JSON / REST
        v
FastAPI service ---- SQLite plan store
        |
        +---- deterministic rules + verified program catalog

The demo uses SQLite so judges can run it immediately. The repository keeps persistence behind a small data-access boundary, making PostgreSQL a straightforward production replacement. A production deployment should add authenticated caseworker roles, encrypted object storage for user-approved documents, source-refresh jobs, audit logging, and jurisdiction-specific rule review.

Quick start

Prerequisites: Python 3.11+ and Node.js 20+.

1. Start the API

cd backend
python -m venv .venv
# Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
# macOS/Linux: source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
uvicorn app.main:app --reload

API: http://127.0.0.1:8000
Interactive API docs: http://127.0.0.1:8000/docs

2. Start the web app

In a second terminal:

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev

Open http://127.0.0.1:5173 and choose any of the sample scenarios.

Production-style single server

Build the frontend, then run FastAPI. It automatically serves frontend/dist:

cd frontend
npm install
npm run build
cd ../backend
pip install -r requirements.txt
uvicorn app.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

Open http://127.0.0.1:8000.

Run tests

cd backend
pytest -q

Example API request

curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/assess \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"need":"Healthcare","zip_code":"60601","household_size":2,"annual_income":28000,"urgency":"today","situation":"Need insulin and received a hospital bill."}'

Safety and privacy

CarePath is a pre-screening and navigation tool—not a medical, legal, or final eligibility decision-maker. Recommendations expose their reasons and link to an administering or authoritative organization. Document-analysis text is processed in memory and not stored. Saved plans require an explicit user action.

Team

• Product and engineering: Add your names and roles before submission
• Contact: team@carepath.example

Submission assets

• submission/DEVPOST.md — ready-to-paste project description
• submission/DEMO_SCRIPT.md — 2–3 minute demo-video script
• submission/PRESENTATION_OUTLINE.md — pitch narrative
• outputs/CarePath-Pitch-Deck.pptx — final presentation (included in the packaged deliverables)

License

MIT