“During a national pandemic, timely and accurate information is key.”
“When the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) began treating COVID-19 patients, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) needed a ground-level situational awareness of COVID-19 in the VA system and metrics to inform the Department’s response. However, VHA lacked a single authoritative source of timely and accurate information, making it difficult to see the big picture and operate and respond to the pandemic accordingly. Moreover, VHA and the Department needed to project this timely and accurate information to VA employees, providers, and the public.”
“”In collaboration with VHA and Microsoft, experts in VA’s Office of Information and Technology (OIT) set out to build a summary and tracking tool that would help VHA gain better situational awareness of its patients and resources during the pandemic. The team rapidly built the National Surveillance Tool (NST) to meet VHA’s needs, and the tool has drawn interest across—and even outside—VA.”
“The NST allows for early detection and monitoring of cases, Department-level biosurveillance, and emergency management at the national and local levels. Data feeds cover patient cases, available assets such as ventilators and masks, hospital capacity, and employee status. Most data are updated hourly, giving a near real-time look at VA’s posture in response to the pandemic. With this data available at a glance, leaders can make timely and informed decisions, such as when and where to cross-level supplies or personnel. The system can even perform predictive analysis, anticipating future hotspots of COVID-19 cases and allowing leaders to address emerging needs before they become critical…” Read the full post here.
Source: DigitalVA: New Tool Helps VA Track and Analyze COVID-19 Data on the Ground – June 19, 2020. DigitalVA.
