Mary Wilson
Well-known member
October 30, 2020 5:01 AM ET
PIEN HUANG and SELENA SIMMONS-DUFFIN
NPR has obtained documents that give a snapshot of data the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services collects and analyzes daily. The documents — reports sent to agency staffers — highlight trends in hospitalizations and pinpoint cities nearing full hospital capacity and facilities under stress. They paint a granular picture of the strain on hospitals across the country that could help local citizens decide when to take extra precautions against COVID-19.
Withholding this information from the public and the research community is a missed opportunity to help prevent outbreaks and even save lives, say public health and data experts who reviewed the documents for NPR.
... The documents show that detailed information hospitals report to HHS every day is reviewed and analyzed — but circulation seems to be limited to a few dozen government staffers from HHS and its agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health, according to distribution lists reviewed by NPR.
What data is being collected and shared internally?
The daily reports show county, city and hospital-level details, as well as national analyses that HHS does not post online.
... And the quality of the underlying data is a concern. Health experts say the data quality was compromised by a controversial shift in data collection from the CDC to HHS in July, and that the issues with data quality have not been fully resolved.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health...hospitalization-data-the-government-keeps-hid
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HHS Headquarters
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Estimated U.S. Hospital Utilization
Estimated hospital utilization data are available for the U.S. states, and territories. This data is estimated from hospital submissions, either reported through their state or reported through HHS Protect.
IMPORTANT: Data displayed on this page was submitted directly to HHS TeleTracking and HHS Protect, which includes historical data from the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) system and data reported to states.
https://protect-public.hhs.gov/pages/hospital-capacity
PIEN HUANG and SELENA SIMMONS-DUFFIN
NPR has obtained documents that give a snapshot of data the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services collects and analyzes daily. The documents — reports sent to agency staffers — highlight trends in hospitalizations and pinpoint cities nearing full hospital capacity and facilities under stress. They paint a granular picture of the strain on hospitals across the country that could help local citizens decide when to take extra precautions against COVID-19.
Withholding this information from the public and the research community is a missed opportunity to help prevent outbreaks and even save lives, say public health and data experts who reviewed the documents for NPR.
... The documents show that detailed information hospitals report to HHS every day is reviewed and analyzed — but circulation seems to be limited to a few dozen government staffers from HHS and its agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health, according to distribution lists reviewed by NPR.
What data is being collected and shared internally?
The daily reports show county, city and hospital-level details, as well as national analyses that HHS does not post online.
... And the quality of the underlying data is a concern. Health experts say the data quality was compromised by a controversial shift in data collection from the CDC to HHS in July, and that the issues with data quality have not been fully resolved.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health...hospitalization-data-the-government-keeps-hid
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HHS Headquarters
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Estimated U.S. Hospital Utilization
Estimated hospital utilization data are available for the U.S. states, and territories. This data is estimated from hospital submissions, either reported through their state or reported through HHS Protect.
IMPORTANT: Data displayed on this page was submitted directly to HHS TeleTracking and HHS Protect, which includes historical data from the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) system and data reported to states.
https://protect-public.hhs.gov/pages/hospital-capacity