COVID-19 Hospital Data System That Bypasses CDC Plagued By Delays, Inaccuracies

[G_j]

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/07/31/897429054/covid-19-hospital-data-system-that-bypasses-cdc-plagued-by-delays-inaccuracies

Earlier this month, when the Trump administration told hospitals to send crucial data about coronavirus cases and intensive care capacity to a new online system, it promised the change would be worth it. The data would be more complete, transparent, and an improvement over the old platform run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, administration officials said.

Instead, the public data hub created under the new system is updated erratically and is rife with inconsistencies and errors, data analysts say.

Lawmakers plan to grill members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force about the reporting change, and what's being done to ensure the data remains public and reliable, in a Friday morning hearing of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus. Several House subcommittees have already launched an investigation into to the data change.

The delays and problems with data on the availability of beds, ventilators and safety equipment could have profound consequences as infections and deaths soar throughout most of the country, public health experts say.

"If the information is not accurate, it could cost time — and lives," says Lisa M. Lee, formerly the chief science officer for public health surveillance at CDC, now at Virginia Tech. For instance, knowing which hospitals have the capacity to take on new patients is critical, she explains. "If all the ICU beds are taken up, emergency medical personnel need to take [new patients] to the next town over or to the next county."

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[soothsayer]

1. Just what they want. If you can't report full capacity, you still have capacity

They’re murderous lunatics

[Squinch]

2. Shocked. Shocked, I tell you.