Page 63 - GCN, Oct/Nov 2016

used by hospital staff. Packard merged the list of codes with discharge data so that the system automatically matched codes to diagnosis descriptions, which makes it easier to search for certain heat-related information.
Discharge data can also include in- formation about patients, including where they live. So researchers used SAS geocoding tools and existing geo- graphic information systems software to map at-risk areas.
Briggs said preliminary analysis un- covered a surprising at-risk popula- tion among younger people. He said that could be due to people working outside.
By combining geospatial and so- cioeconomic data, investigators also identified clusters of heat illnesses in poorer parts of the county.
Once occupational and population
risk factors were discovered, staff could create data visualizations and send tailored alerts, resources and educational tools to county leaders, health providers, emergency respond- ers, the media and other agencies.
In addition to tracking heat-relat- ed illnesses, the county also uses the software for case management for tuberculosis patients, who typically undergo six months of therapy involv- ing a variety of medications, daily observations and tests. According to Briggs, a TB investigator is using SAS to combine lab results, treatment dates and follow-up plans to generate automated reports, daily and weekly to-do lists, reminders and treatment verifications.
Additionally, SAS tools allow the county’s public health staff to produce long-term trend reports through bio-
surveillance of hundreds of infectious and sexually transmitted diseases. For example, the software can help spot trends in salmonella, for which it is hard to identify causes. It can also be used to detect and analyze disease outbreaks.
“It’s easy to spot something severe, like Hanta, meningitis or Ebola,” Briggs said. “For something like sal- monella, it’s more difficult. Cases trickle in. It may take weeks to iden- tify a cause. Analytics spot the trend earlier and help public health officials focus their investigation.”
The county has been using SAS to monitor heat-related illnesses since the beginning of the summer, and of- ficials plan to spend the winter ana- lyzing the data to identify the at-risk populations and find ways to mitigate risks by next spring. •
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