These cluster detection methods are used to investigate disease clusters in space (cases of disease tend to aggregate over particular locations). Spatial cluster detection methods can be classified in several different ways. "Global" tests detect clustering throughout the study region without interest in the specific locations of the clusters. "Local" and "focused" tests are similar because they are used to detect clustering in localized areas. Specifically, a "focused" test is used detect clustering around a point source exposure to a factor that is proposed to increase risk of disease. For that reason, "global" and "local" methods can also be considered "general", in the sense that they look for clustering without pre-determined hypotheses about location of a cluster.

The Spatial methods included in GeoMed include: