Hospitals are being asked to do more with less – deliver rapid connections to health care services, generate better outcomes and have tighter coordination across teams and services. The patient is at the center of it all. Getting people the care they need, where they are and when they need
Rising chronic conditions, escalating demands for health care services, and the dual crises of staff shortages and burnout make the urgency of streamlined and efficient processes more critical than ever. The future of care lies in advanced technologies. Whether it’s a routine check-up or a complex medical condition, integrating AI
It is no surprise that generative AI (GenAI) is quickly becoming a potent tool in the health and life sciences industry. There are numerous ways that AI and GenAI can help beat the rising tide of fraud. We can count on these new technologies to enable the ability to commit
Your zip code can have just as much of an impact on your health as your DNA. In a recent podcast episode with Joyanna Gamble-George, MHA, PhD, and Karriem Watson, DHS, MS, MPH, the above statement didn’t just stop us in our track – it reshaped the entire conversation. As
Childbirth should be a safe and joyous occasion as parents welcome a new member into their family. Still, too often, that joy is overshadowed by maternal complications, including maternal and infant death. Each year in the United States, as many as 60,000 women experience severe, unexpected health problems related to
Before I started with SAS, I worked at the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health. Among many other projects, our analytics work included integrating data from multiple county departments and risk stratifying citizens in the greatest need of public services. This led to our 1115 Whole Person Care (WPC) waiver
Inequities in cancer care cause specific populations in the U.S. and worldwide to bear a more significant burden of disease than the general population, based upon barriers. These barriers to prevention and care have long existed but were undeniably exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. February 4 marks World Cancer Day, which
Amid historical and structural barriers, “quality cancer treatment for all” is a simple credo that is not easy to put into action. Cancer is recognized as a leading cause of death, accounting for more than 10 million deaths globally in 2020, according to the World Health Organization. Globally, people with
Now that we are many months into the COVID-19 pandemic, we can start to reexamine the data and look for trends. This time, I want to explore how COVID-19 has been spreading around the US. I do this by animating a county map over time. What is animation? Are you
Now that we are many months into the COVID-19 pandemic, I've started going back and reexamining the data for lessons or trends (you might say hindsight is 20/20). This time, I want to explore how COVID-19 has been spreading around the US. I do this by using a graphical idea
During the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, you've probably formed a great appreciation for good, informative graphics. Good graphics can help you get a handle on thousands of individual data values, see the geographical distribution, or look for trends. In February, I wrote a blog post about creating a coronavirus dashboard with
Now that COVID-19 is spreading in the US, I thought it might be helpful to view the data at a more granular level. Follow along as I plot the county data on a map and discuss how the color-binning can influence people's perception of the data. Maps like this can
Everyone's thinking about the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), and wondering if there are any cases near where they live. I recently used SAS Software to create a dashboard with a world map showing which countries had reported cases. And now that the virus has spread around the world, a world/country-level
The COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak has been in the news a lot lately, and everyone is probably looking for a quick/easy way to see the data. The best visualization I've seen so far is this dashboard by Johns Hopkins. Here's a screen-capture: But before we dive into the data analysis, let's
The coronavirus has been a big item in the news lately - it's a pneumonia-like illness that has killed several people. It's thought to have started in China, and has spread to several other countries (including at least one case in the U.S.). The World Health Organization says the coronavirus
The flu season has started here in the U.S., and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data it has caused 214 deaths in the first week of 2020. Is this number higher, or lower, than usual? When does the flu season start, and how long does
Here in the US, there's a lot of talk about the flu each year. First, people discuss whether or not to get the flu shot. Then there are discussions about whether or not you or your friends have the flu (or something else). Then the discussions about what strain of
I recently read an article that said a school in Asheville, North Carolina had the worst chickenpox outbreak in the state in 2 decades. The article was interesting, and it also let me know I had a hole in my knowledge ... "What?!? - There's a chickenpox vaccine?!?" When I
As health care evolves, its entire ecosystem – from payers and providers to pharmaceutical companies and government agencies – seeks to find common ground. More data is available than ever. But transforming information into innovation is challenging. Organizations strive to create shared goals, internally and externally, trying to improve patient
My buddy Rick Wicklin recently pointed me towards an animation of some opioid prescription rate data for Illinois. And, of course, I decided we needed a similar animation for North Carolina (with a few improvements...) Here's the original, and here are the problems that jump out at me: Counties with
The flu seems to be especially potent this year. "How potent is it," you might ask? ... Well, let's plot some data on a map to help find out! Here in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) compiles data about diseases, and provides reports and graphs
Have you, or someone you know, gotten the flu this year? Word on the street is that this year's flu might be particularly bad, and the data seem to be corroborating that so far. You don't want to take my word for it? -- well then, let's have a look
I recently saw an alarming article on social media about an outbreak of airborne plague spreading from Madagascar to Africa (and potentially to the rest of the world). The plague?!? - I thought that only happened hundreds of years ago?!? I don't really trust news on Facebook, so I went
"They'll eat you out of house & home! Their food bill will put you in the poor house! ... And they never gain an ounce!" - That's what my friends say about their teenage sons. They're probably exaggerating a little, but since it's a recurring theme, there's probably some truth
Let's create a souped-up SAS map that can track Zika-carrying mosquitoes down to the county level, in the US! A few months ago, I wrote a blog post with a world map of documented locations of the Aedes mosquitoes that could carry the Zika virus. The world map showed a high concentration
In my previous post, I wrote about the Quick Pulse survey of leaders of health care institutions and the vital role data and analytics has in patient care and engagement. In this post, I'll tell you what the survey had to say about the progress these leaders believe they are
In my previous post, I wrote about the Quick Pulse survey of leaders of health care institutions and the vital role data and analytics has in patient care and engagement. In this post, I'll tell you what the survey had to say about the progress these leaders believe they are
Everyone in health care is talking about data and analytics these days and the vendor world has shifted into overdrive. So what is really going on in the trenches, and what does this mean for the future? Does this mean that we will finally find the holy grail of information-driven
Everyone in health care is talking about data and analytics these days and the vendor world has shifted into overdrive. So what is really going on in the trenches, and what does this mean for the future? Does this mean that we will finally find the holy grail of information-driven
Lately I've seen several articles about drug overdose deaths being on the increase. But I didn't really like the graphs in those articles, so I tried to create some better ones using SAS ... For example, here's a map from the National Center for Health Statistics website (see the 3rd dashboard/tab
