“A new report in Science suggests that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ COVID-19 patient data tracking system, HHS Protect, shows inconsistency with other sources that could lead to problems with resource allocation.”
“According to a data analysis obtained by Science from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HHS Protect figures differ from 30 states’ public health data by more than 20%. HHS Protect’s inpatient data was also ‘erratic’ in the past two months for 21 states.”
“‘The HHS Protect data are poor quality, inconsistent with state reports, and the analysis is slipshod,’ one CDC source told Science.”
“The HHS Protect tracking system has been dogged by controversy since its seemingly sudden launch this summer, with some hospital systems given two days’ notice to switch over their reporting.”
“Since then, HHS has maintained that HHS Protect is an improvement on the previous tracking system, the National Healthcare Safety Network, and that the new system is necessary to determine resource allocation.”
“Former HHS CTO Ed Simcox, who left the agency in February, told Healthcare IT News that NHSN was not ‘purpose-built’ for the pandemic and that led to information gaps.”
“The reporting in Science suggests, however, that HHS Protect data often diverges dramatically from data collected by other sources, such as the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and state public health agencies…” Read the full article here.
Source: CDC analysis raises questions about HHS COVID-19 patient data tracking system – By Kat Jercich, November 30, 2020. Healthcare IT News.
