COVID data failures create pressure for public health system overhaul
Skip to main content
MDHC_Logotype_white
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • This Week's News
    • COVID-19
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition
    • Feds shouldn't lose sight of drug misuse epidemic, GAO says
      OU Health Physicians, Oklahoma Blues plan fail to reach new contract
      NIH, partners commit $74.9M to new phase of Alzheimer's program
      COVID, one year later: New York hospital execs reflect on lessons learned
    • COVID, one year later: New York hospital execs reflect on lessons learned
      Senate Dems sorting final details of $1.9T virus relief bill
      White House: Merck to help produce rival J&J's vaccine
      Blue Cross NC claims costs rise thanks to COVID
    • Shareholder group calls out HCA for alleged excessive emergency department admissions
      Metrologo 600x400_i.jpg
      MetroHealth forms Center for Cancer Research
      The Check Up: Dr. Marc Boom
      The Check Up: Dr. Marc Boom of Houston Methodist
      Dr. Marc Boom
      Q&A: Houston Methodist CEO praises staff efforts to keep vaccine efforts going during ice storm
    • OU Health Physicians, Oklahoma Blues plan fail to reach new contract
      Blue Cross NC claims costs rise thanks to COVID
      BlueCrossBlueShieldSign-main_i_i_i.jpg
      Michigan Blues post lowest operating profits in four years amid COVID-19 pandemic
      Highmark, HealthNow finalize affiliation, creating fourth-largest Blues plan
    • Feds shouldn't lose sight of drug misuse epidemic, GAO says
      House health panel chair says it's time to make Medicare telehealth permanent
      Pandemic raises questions about impact of Medicare pay restructuring in long-term care
      Proposed overhaul of Arkansas Medicaid expansion unveiled
    • UPMC's patient volumes stabilize, boosting 2020 profits
      Genomics firms taking advantage of SPACs trend to go public faster
      COVID-19 could dent hospital revenue by at least $53 billion in 2021, AHA says
      deloitte GDP image chart graph going up
      Sponsored Content Provided By Deloitte
      Breaking the cost curve
    • Teladoc reports $383.3M in fourth-quarter revenue, up 145%
      man and woman looking at ipad wearing face masks stock image
      Sponsored Content Provided By Surescripts
      Improvements to benefits data can enhance ePrescribing and the patient experience
      Oscar Health's $1B IPO sets the stage for more health tech exits in 2021
      A map of the U.S. with images of the coronavirus.
      The digital divide becomes a new social determinant of health
    • Highmark Health partners with Verily subsidiary on chronic care issues
      Children's mental healthcare needs skyrocket during pandemic
      Tensions over vaccine equity pit rural against urban America
      Utah cancels vaccine appointments after registration error
    • Alicia Wilson
      Q&A: Emerging leader Alicia Wilson on staying close to home
      Michael Jordan, Novant team up to address health equity
      Former Ascension CEO, the first to lead the health system, passes away
      Biden's pick to head CMS would be first Black woman to hold post
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Insights
    • ACA 10 Years After
    • Best Practices
    • Special Reports
    • Innovations
    • The Affordable Care Act after 10 years
    • Dr. John Fischer
      Patient-reported outcomes tool for hernia surgery helps physicians improve care
      New care model helps primary-care practices treat obesity
      doctor with patient
      COVID-19 treatment protocol developed in the field helps patients recover
      Rachel Wyatt
      Project to curb pressure injuries in hospitals shows promise
    • What's next for on-demand telehealth companies?
      A map of the U.S. with images of the coronavirus.
      The digital divide becomes a new social determinant of health
      A CalOptima PACE vaccination clinic.
      Will COVID-19 be the catalyst for creating a more sustainable healthcare system?
      Ascension’s St. Mary’s Hospital Surgery Center at Towne Centre and Allegheny Health Network’s Bethel Park surgery center
      Hospitals see opportunity, risk in ambulatory surgery centers
    • Dr. Daniel Hall
      UPMC pilots machine learning, telehealth to inform patient transfers
      A woman being recorded using her inhaler on a smartphone.
      Digital check-ins, connected inhalers help control asthma
      A phone screen showing the question, "Mary we hope this information was helpful and we'd like to keep guiding you. Are you interested in knowing when it's your turn to receive the vaccine?"
      Chatbots, texting campaigns help manage influx of COVID vax questions
      A woman with a wearable sensor talking to her provider.
      Wearable sensors help diagnose heart rhythm problems in West Virginia
  • Transformation
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • What's next for on-demand telehealth companies?
      Rising prescription copays drop adherence, spike mortality, research shows
      Dr. John Fischer
      Patient-reported outcomes tool for hernia surgery helps physicians improve care
      Highmark Health inks six-year cloud, tech deal with Google
    • Hospitals' Medicare billing practices suggest upcoding, OIG says
      California hospitals prepare ethical protocol to prioritize lifesaving care
      Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, Berkshire Hathaway disband Haven
      Digital pathways poised to reshape healthcare continuum in 2021
    • Dr. Daniel Hall
      UPMC pilots machine learning, telehealth to inform patient transfers
      A woman being recorded using her inhaler on a smartphone.
      Digital check-ins, connected inhalers help control asthma
      Humana partners with in-home provider for 24/7 care
      A phone screen showing the question, "Mary we hope this information was helpful and we'd like to keep guiding you. Are you interested in knowing when it's your turn to receive the vaccine?"
      Chatbots, texting campaigns help manage influx of COVID vax questions
    • Bundled payments reduce surgery costs by 10.7%
      Coordinated payment policies could speed transition to value, experts say
      CMMI's geographic direct contracting model needs an overhaul, experts say
      Hospitals fight UnitedHealthcare policies over lab test, specialty drug payments
  • Data/Lists
    • Rankings/Lists
    • Interactive Databases
    • Data Points
    • Health Systems Financials
      Executive Compensation
      Physician Compensation
  • Op-Ed
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
    • Dr. Alan Kaplan
      The risks, rewards of taking organizations 'where they haven’t gone before'
      Wellstar CEO calls adapting for the pandemic her bold move
      Howard P. Kern
      Recognizing the value of telehealth in its infancy
      Dr. Stephen Markovich
      A bold move helped take him from family doctor to OhioHealth CEO
    • Dr. Stephen Markovich
      Making sure we're aligned along the path to achieving inclusion
      Barry Ostrowsky
      Ending racism is a journey taken together; the starting point must be now
      Laura Lee Hall and Gary Puckrein
      Increased flu vaccination has never been more important for communities of color
      John Daniels Jr.
      Health equity: Making the journey from buzzword to reality
    • Vaccinating children could be the key to ending the pandemic
      Mikelle Moore
      The promising future of rural healthcare, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic
      In-person visitation must be part of the national COVID-19 response
      We've lost so much to the pandemic, but we've also made gains that will endure
    • Letters: Eliminating bias in healthcare needs to be ‘deliberate and organic’
      Letters: Maybe dropping out of ACOs is a good thing for patients
      Letters: White House and Congress share blame for lack of national COVID strategy
      Letters: VA making strides to improve state veterans home inspections
    • Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      How blockchain could ease frustration with the payment process
      Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      Three steps to better data-sharing for payer and provider CIOs
      Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      Reduce total cost of care: 6 reasons why providers and payers should tackle the challenge together
      Sponsored Content Provided By Optum
      Why CIOs went from back-office operators to mission-critical innovators
  • Awards
    • Award Programs
    • Nominate
    • Previous Award Programs
    • Other Award Programs
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare Logo for Navigation
      Nominations Open - Best Places to Work in Healthcare
      Nominations Open - 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Minorities in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Minority Leaders
      • - Minorities to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Excellence in Nursing Awards
    • Design Awards
    • Top 25 COOs in Healthcare
    • 100 Top Hospitals
    • ACHE Awards
  • Events
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Webinars
    • COVID-19 Event Tracker
    • podium march webinar logo lockup
      Sponsored Content Provided By Podium
      Webinar: Critical Touchpoints for Every Patient’s Journey — How Technology Plays an Important Role
      scp health logo lockup march 2021
      Sponsored Content Provided By SCP Health
      Webinar: COVID’s call to action — Reset for success in 2021
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Healthcare Transformation Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Virtual Briefings
      • - Hospital of the Future
      • - Mental Health
      • - Patient Safety & Quality
      • - Strategic Marketing
      • - Virtual Health
      • - Workplace of the Future
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Minority Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
  • Listen
    • Podcast - Next Up
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Next Up Podcast: Educating patients on the COVID-19 vaccine with Tanya Andreadis
      Dr. Joseph Cacchione
      Next Up Podcast: Educating patients on the COVID-19 vaccine with Dr. Joseph Cacchione
      Dr. Karen DeSalvo
      Next Up Podcast: What to expect with telehealth and healthcare technology in the next four years
      Carter Dredge
      Next Up Podcast: Ready, set, innovate! Innovation and disruption in healthcare
    • Beyond the Byline: Insurers are betting on virtual-first plans as COVID-19 shifts care pathways
      Beyond the Byline: How residents' stories shape our coverage of the vaccination rollout in nursing homes
      Beyond the Byline: Regulators aim to boost value push with fraud and abuse law updates
      An older man wearing a mask receiving a vaccine.
      Beyond the Byline: Verifying information on the chaotic COVID-19 vaccine rollout
    • Outreach during COVID-19
      Leading intention promote diversity and inclusion
      Introducing Healthcare Insider Podcast
    • The Check Up: Dr. Marc Boom
      The Check Up: Dr. Marc Boom of Houston Methodist
      The Check Up: Dr. Imran Andrabi
      The Check Up: Dr. Imran Andrabi of ThedaCare
      The Check Up: Tanya Blackmon
      The Check Up: Tanya Blackmon of Novant Health
      The Check Up: Dr. Patrick Hwu
      The Check Up: Dr. Patrick Hwu of the Moffitt Cancer Center
    • ivana naeymi-rad one on one intelligent medical objects
      Video: Ivana Naeymi Rad of Intelligent Medical Objects
  • MORE +
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Information Systems
August 14, 2020 11:58 AM

COVID data failures create pressure for public health system overhaul

Harris Meyer, Kaiser Health News
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Modern Healthcare Illustration / Getty Images

    After terrorists slammed a plane into the Pentagon on 9/11, ambulances rushed scores of the injured to community hospitals, but only three of the patients were taken to specialized trauma wards. The reason: The hospitals and ambulances had no real-time information-sharing system.

    Nineteen years later, there is still no national data network that enables the health system to respond effectively to disasters and disease outbreaks. Many doctors and nurses must fill out paper forms on COVID-19 cases and available beds and fax them to public health agencies, causing critical delays in care and hampering the effort to track and block the spread of the coronavirus.

    "We need to be thinking long and hard about making improvements in the data-reporting system so the response to the next epidemic is a little less painful," said Dr. Dan Hanfling, a vice president at In-Q-Tel, a nonprofit that helps the federal government solve technology problems in healthcare and other areas. "And there will be another one."

    There are signs the COVID-19 pandemic has created momentum to modernize the nation's creaky, fragmented public health data system, in which nearly 3,000 local, state and federal health departments set their own reporting rules and vary greatly in their ability to send and receive data electronically.

    Sutter Health and UC Davis Health, along with nearly 30 other provider organizations around the country, recently launched a collaborative effort to speed and improve the sharing of clinical data on individual COVID cases with public health departments.

    But even that platform, which contains information about patients' diagnoses and response to treatments, doesn't yet include data on the availability of hospital beds, intensive care units or supplies needed for a seamless pandemic response.

    The federal government spent nearly $40 billion over the past decade to equip hospitals and physicians' offices with electronic health record systems for improving treatment of individual patients. But no comparable effort has emerged to build an effective system for quickly moving information on infectious disease from providers to public health agencies.

    In March, Congress approved $500 million over 10 years to modernize the public health data infrastructure. But the amount falls far short of what's needed to update data systems and train staff at local and state health departments, said Brian Dixon, director of public health informatics at the Regenstrief Institute in Indianapolis.

    The congressional allocation is half the annual amount proposed under last year's bipartisan Saving Lives Through Better Data Act, which did not pass, and much less than the $4.5 billion Public Health Infrastructure Fund proposed last year by public health leaders.

    "The data are moving slower than the disease," said Janet Hamilton, executive director of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. "We need a way to get that information electronically and seamlessly to public health agencies so we can do investigations, quarantine people and identify hot spots and risk groups in real time, not two weeks later."

    The impact of these data failures is felt around the country. The director of the California Department of Public Health, Dr. Sonia Angell, was forced out Aug. 9 after a malfunction in the state's data system left out up to 300,000 COVID-19 test results, undercutting the accuracy of its case count.

    Other advanced countries have done a better job of rapidly and accurately tracking COVID-19 cases and medical resources while doing contact tracing and quarantining those who test positive. In France, physicians' offices report patient symptoms to a central agency every day. That's an advantage of having a national healthcare system.

    "If someone in France sneezes, they learn about it in Paris," said Dr. Chris Lehmann, clinical informatics director at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

    Coronavirus cases reported to U.S. public health departments are often missing patients' addresses and phone numbers, which are needed to trace their contacts, Hamilton said. Lab test results often lack information on patients' races or ethnicities, which could help authorities understand demographic disparities in transmission and response to the virus.

    Last month, the Trump administration abruptly ordered hospitals to report all COVID-19 data to a private vendor hired by the Department of Health and Human Services rather than to the long-established reporting system run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The administration said the switch would help the White House coronavirus task force better allocate scarce supplies.

    The shift disrupted, at least temporarily, the flow of critical information needed to track COVID-19 outbreaks and allocate resources, public health officials said. They worried the move looked political in nature and could dampen public confidence in the accuracy of the data.

    An HHS spokesperson said the transition had improved and sped up hospital reporting. Experts had various opinions on the matter but agreed that the new system doesn't fix problems with the old CDC system that contributed to this country's slow and ineffective response to COVID-19.

    "While I think it's an exceptionally bad idea to take the CDC out of it, the bottom line is the way CDC presented the data wasn't all that useful," said Dr. George Rutherford, a professor of epidemiology at the University of California-San Francisco.

    The new HHS system lacks data from nursing homes, which is needed to ensure safe care for COVID patients after discharge from the hospital, said Dr. Lissy Hu, CEO of CarePort Health, which coordinates care between hospitals and post-acute facilities.

    Some observers hope the pandemic will persuade the healthcare industry to push faster toward its goal of smoother data exchange through computer systems that can easily talk to one another — an objective that has met with only partial success after more than a decade of effort.

    The case reporting system launched by Sutter Health and its partners sends clinical information from each coronavirus patient's electronic health record to public health agencies in all 50 states. The Digital Bridge platform also allows the agencies for the first time to send helpful treatment information back to doctors and nurses. About 20 other health systems are preparing to join the 30 partners in the system, and major digital health record vendors like Epic and Allscripts have added the reporting capacity to their software.

    Sutter hopes to get state and county officials to let the health system stop sending data manually, which would save its clinicians time they need for treating patients, said Dr. Steven Lane, Sutter's clinical informatics director for interoperability.

    The platform could be key in implementing COVID-19 vaccination around the country, said Dr. Andrew Wiesenthal, a managing director at Deloitte Consulting who spearheaded the development of Digital Bridge.

    "You'd want a registry of everyone immunized, you'd want to hear if that person developed COVID anyway, then you'd want to know about subsequent symptoms," he said. "You can only do that well if you have an effective data system for surveillance and reporting."

    The key is to get all the healthcare players — providers, insurers, EHR vendors and public health agencies — to collaborate and share data, rather than hoarding it for their own financial or organizational benefit, Wiesenthal said.

    "One would hope we will use this crisis as an opportunity to fix a long-standing problem," said John Auerbach, CEO of Trust for America's Health. "But I worry this will follow the historical pattern of throwing a lot of money at a problem during a crisis, then cutting back after. There's a tendency to think short term."

    This KHN story first published on California Healthline, a service of the California Health Care Foundation.

    Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Demand grows for chief research information officers as role evolves
    Demand grows for chief research information officers as role evolves
    Tech service provider for nursing homes hit by ransomware attack
    Tech service provider for nursing homes hit by ransomware attack
    Sponsored Content
    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up for free enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today

    The weekly magazine, websites, research and databases provide a powerful and all-encompassing industry presence. We help you make informed business decisions and lead your organizations to success.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Instagram

    Stay Connected

    Join the conversation with Modern Healthcare through our social media pages

    MDHC_Logotype_white
    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • This Week's News
      • COVID-19
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition
    • Insights
      • ACA 10 Years After
      • Best Practices
      • Special Reports
      • Innovations
    • Transformation
      • Patients
      • Operations
      • Care Delivery
      • Payment
    • Data/Lists
      • Rankings/Lists
      • Interactive Databases
      • Data Points
    • Op-Ed
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Awards
      • Award Programs
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top 25 Innovators
        • Minorities in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Minority Leaders
          • - Minorities to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Nominate
      • Previous Award Programs
        • Excellence in Nursing Awards
        • Design Awards
        • Top 25 COOs in Healthcare
      • Other Award Programs
        • 100 Top Hospitals
        • ACHE Awards
    • Events
      • Conferences
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Healthcare Transformation Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Virtual Briefings
          • - Hospital of the Future
          • - Mental Health
          • - Patient Safety & Quality
          • - Strategic Marketing
          • - Virtual Health
          • - Workplace of the Future
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Minority Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Webinars
      • COVID-19 Event Tracker
    • Listen
      • Podcast - Next Up
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • MORE +
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing