Ways that data and analytics management can play an important role in detecting and responding to emergencies, was the topic at the AFCEA Bethesda March breakfast meeting http://bethesda.afceachapters.org. Data and analytics are greatly needed to provide information on viral outbreaks, natural disasters, and other public health crises worldwide like water shortages and lead contamination.
Nancy Nurthen, Director, Fusion Division, Office of Emergency Management (OEM), www.phe.gov/about/oem/Pages/default.aspx within the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), and a panelist at the AFCEA breakfast, described how the Fusion Division in the need for real-time data and analytics uses a number of internal and external tools to track and collect reliable data in order to make informed decisions.
OEM helps to coordinate federal public health and medical preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. The “Secretary’s Operations Center” operates 24/7 365 days a year while maintaining situational awareness of incidents and events related to public health.
OEM has established networks of local, state, regional, and international public health and emergency management partners, who help communities plan for and recover from disasters. The “Partner Readiness and Emergency Program” (PREP) Division engages with partners at all levels of governance to provide knowledge.
OEM and others go to www.phe.gov/emergency/hhscapabilities/Pages/default.aspx for the HHS “Response and Recovery Compendium a collection of federal resources and capabilities available to mitigate the health impacts of emergencies. The compendium is a comprehensive web-based repository of HHS products, services, and capabilities available to help state, tribal, territorial, and local agencies before, during, and after public and medical incidents.
The Geographic Information System (GIS) http://gis.medmap.hhs.gov/medmap/default.aspx uses the tool GeoHealth www.fic.nih.gov/programs/Pages/environmental-occupational.aspx to provide an electronic interactive mapping application capable of incorporating information from numerous sources at HHS.
Also, emPOWER Map www.phe.gov/emp is an interactive online tool to help community health agencies and emergency management officials plan ahead to meet the emergency needs of community residents who rely on electrically powered medical and assistive equipment.
Nurthen also mentioned how important it is to use social media in emergency situations. NowTrending HHS.gov http://nowtrending.hhs.gov is a web-based application that searches open source Twitter data for health topics and then analyzes the data for specified geographic areas.
Health departments and other health entities can use this tool in multiple ways, including as an indicator of potential health issues that may be emerging in the population in order to build a baseline of trend data or to engage the public on trending health topics.
There are also threat-specific emergency response tools available such as Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management (CHEMM) http://chemm.nlm.nih.gov site able to provide guidance on planning, responding, and conducting recovery related to chemical mass casualty incidents.
Also the Radiation Emergency Medical Management (REMM) www.remm.nlm.gov system provides guidance on the clinical diagnosis and treatment of mass casualty radiological and nuclear events for healthcare providers. This tool includes just-in-time evidence-based usable information with sufficient background and context to make complex issues easily understandable.