Strong Data Systems Are Crucial during Coronavirus

By Katherine Seaton, Editorial OfficerMay 04, 2020Data systems are crucial for health care all the time, but during a natural disaster, war, or pandemic like COVID-19, functioning data systems can mean the difference between life and death.Data help us know what the health needs are, what capabilities each nearby hospital and clinic has, and where health workers should be deployed. Essential for responding to a pandemic, these data help monitor the spread and intensity of disease and help everyone, not just health workers, understand its severity and impact on society.If the systems are operating smoothly, we don’t even realize they’re there. For example, the World Health Organization’sFluNet platform, an open source data tool that shares data on the influenza virus, helpedprevent SARS from becoming endemic after the 2003 outbreak and allowed for an efficient, rapid, and comprehensive response to the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.But when data systems are old or clunky or weak, their flaws become clear—and dangerous. Lack of information leads to government inaction, like in Puerto Rico during the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, when a lack of data on where people should go for medical care and what steps health facilities should take led to preventable deaths.One investment that really pays off (and becomes invisible during an emergency) is making sure a country’s data systems are interoperable. That is, making sure different digital health systems can talk...
Source: IntraHealth International - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Digital Health Health Workforce & Systems Source Type: news