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US - Department of Health & Human Services tells hospitals to bypass CDC and send COVID-19 data directly to them

Mary Wilson

Well-known member
POSTED 6:32 PM, JULY 14, 2020, BY FOX TELEVISION STATIONS

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has ordered hospitals to begin sending coronavirus patient information directly to the Department of Health and Human Services, bypassing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The move has drawn criticism from some public health experts, who say the White House has been politicizing science and sidelining the CDC in its response to the pandemic.

The change in reporting will begin Wednesday, according to a document offering guidance for hospitals and clinical labs posted on the HHS website.

...Hospitals previously reported to the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network, described by the agency as “the nation’s most widely used healthcare-associated infection tracking system.”

...There have been concerns among public health experts that the White House has been sidelining the CDC and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, amid a renewed surge of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. President Donald Trump has also suggested, contrary to evidence, that the severity of the pandemic that has killed more than 135,000 Americans is being overstated by critics to damage his chances of reelection in November.

https://fox6now.com/2020/07/14/trum...s-to-bypass-cdc-with-covid-19-data-reporting/
 
7/14/2020

Response from IDSA President to New COVID-19 Data Reporting Protocol

Thomas M. File, Jr., M.D., FIDSA —
President, Infectious Diseases Society of America

Reports that the administration has established a procedure that would remove the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a recipient of data on patients hospitalized with COVID-19 are troubling and, if implemented, will undermine our nation’s public health experts. COVID-19 data collection and reporting must be done in a transparent and trustworthy manner and must not be politicized, as these data are the foundation that guide our response to the pandemic. Collecting and reporting public health data is a core function of the CDC, for which the agency has the necessary trained experts and infrastructure. Placing medical data collection outside of the leadership of public health experts could severely weaken the quality and availability of data, add an additional burden to already overwhelmed hospitals and add a new challenge to the U.S. pandemic response.

https://www.idsociety.org/news--pub...dent-to-new-covid-19-data-reporting-protocol/
 
The Centers for Disease Control is one of the major operating components under the management of the Department of Health and Human Services.
 
7/14/2020

Response from IDSA President to New COVID-19 Data Reporting Protocol

Thomas M. File, Jr., M.D., FIDSA —
President, Infectious Diseases Society of America

Reports that the administration has established a procedure that would remove the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a recipient of data on patients hospitalized with COVID-19 are troubling and, if implemented, will undermine our nation’s public health experts. COVID-19 data collection and reporting must be done in a transparent and trustworthy manner and must not be politicized, as these data are the foundation that guide our response to the pandemic. Collecting and reporting public health data is a core function of the CDC, for which the agency has the necessary trained experts and infrastructure. Placing medical data collection outside of the leadership of public health experts could severely weaken the quality and availability of data, add an additional burden to already overwhelmed hospitals and add a new challenge to the U.S. pandemic response.

https://www.idsociety.org/news--pub...dent-to-new-covid-19-data-reporting-protocol/

I have no idea what the administration is doing but the Department of Health and Human Services has plenty of public health experts, for instance, 6000+ people who work in the Surgeon General's office. They probably know how to use spreadsheet programs to tally data.

Maybe the IDSA should clean up their own dirty laundry before they advise anyone else what to do.

On the theory that it is not a good idea to change horses in the middle of a stream, it probably makes more sense to let the CDC continue to do their thing and make data collection changes after the pandemic. The hospitals have enough to do without another new requirement.

We are screwed already. Unless people start to take mask wearing seriously we are going to go down the drain. 100 million cases?....hey....whatever....we will get there for sure....it will be up to each person to take care of themselves. Hopefully treatments will improve and we can make progress on the mortality and morbidity rates.

Why not shuffle all the departments around......maybe the CDC should report to NASA. They have a lot of smart, logical people over there.

I have just had it.

(not waiting for a vaccine)
 
I share your 'logic' here, Sharon. You are not alone.
In my past, each time a national crisis or a natural disaster affected me personally, I came to the conclusion that 'I am on my own', governments will not 'help' me as an individual to survive.
Government will protect themselves first. People need to rely on themselves to survive.
 
In the middle of a pandemic -

Cdcgone.PNG


https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/covid19/rep...hor_1594393649
 
Murray Demands Answers Regarding Non-Competitive, Multimillion Dollar Contract for Duplicative Health Data System

06.03.20
  • Murray questions Trump health officials about decision to award non-competitive, multimillion dollar contract that doesn’t address critical gaps in COVID-19 data
  • While country still lacks detailed information on tests, supplies, production and manufacturing gaps, and comprehensive demographic data, new contract duplicates existing CDC work
  • Murray: “Clear, accurate, comprehensive data is desperately needed in our fight against COVID-19.”​​​​​​​
  • Murray: “While… critical data remain out of reach of communities, scientists, and policymakers, it appears the establishment of the TeleTracking system—at significant cost—duplicates the collection of data that was already being reported.”
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, wrote to Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Robert Kadlec, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), demanding answers about the awarding of a non-competitive, multimillion dollar contract for a seemingly duplicative data collection system.

Given the importance of collecting this data as quickly as possible, I have several questions about the Trump Administration’s decision to award a multimillion dollar contract on a non-competitive basis to create a seemingly duplicative data collection system,” Senator Murray wrote.

In her letter Senator Murray detailed how the contract seems to duplicate the work done by the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) by creating a second mechanism through which hospitals can report the same information already collected through NHSN.

(sections of letter)

...Despite this clear direction to employ a well-established reporting mechanism, in early April, ASPR issued a six-month contract for $10 million on a non-competitive basis to TeleTracking to create an alternate hospital reporting pathway to the Department of Health and Human Services (the Department).
​​​​​​​...
  1. What instructions have been given to hospitals about which COVID-19 case data to report to these two different systems?
  2. For those hospitals that report only to TeleTracking, how are they reporting data to HHSA around antimicrobial resistance, sepsis, and other critical infections that occur in inpatient settings and are typically reported through NHSN?
  3. Why was the TeleTracking contract awarded on a non-competitive basis?
Read the full letter below and HERE.

https://www.help.senate.gov/ranking...-contract-for-duplicative-health-data-system-
 
COVID-19 Guidance for Hospital Reporting and FAQs
For Hospitals, Hospital Laboratory, and Acute Care Facility Data Reporting Updated July 10, 2020


On March 29, 2020, Vice President Pence sent a letter to hospital administrators across the country requesting daily data reports on testing, capacity and utilization, and patient flows to facilitate the public health response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Many separate governmental entities are requesting similar information, resulting in stakeholder requests to reduce duplication and minimize reporting burden.

https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/f...ratory-acute-care-facility-data-reporting.pdf
 
I am now more than ever questioning the accuracy of COVID-19 reporting data that is made available to the people in the US. So sad to have this doubt.
 
I've always voted for Patty Murray ever since a mining industry lobbyist begged me to remove some favorable statements about her from a blog. She adds some balance to the Senate.
 
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