Download Data Standardization Strategies Producing Rapid International Disease Surveillance and Intervention: The Challenge and Solution

SUGI 29
Data Warehousing, Management and Quality
Paper 100-29
Data Standardization Strategies Producing Rapid
International Disease Surveillance and Intervention: The
Challenge and Solution
Scott Optenberg, SRO Consulting
ABSTRACT
Currently there are six infectious diseases: pneumonia, tuberculosis, diarrhoeal disease, malaria,
measles, and HIV/AIDS that account for half of all premature deaths from infectious disease in the world.
Numerous diseases, once thought eliminated, are returning at an alarming rate, and in the last 20 years
over 30 new diseases have emerged: hantavirus, diphtheria, meningitis, cholera, dengue, plague, typhus,
HIV/AIDS, Legionnaires', Marburg, CJD, and Ebola, to name a few. The WHO Director-General
repeatedly calls for governments to play a stronger role for “improved surveillance systems and better
access to global health information."
A specific approach to global disease surveillance is currently being implemented within multiple Third
World nations. This approach is based on Health Level Seven (HL7) international data processing and
management standards and technologies. However, one of the most persistent problems plaguing this
type of implementation and adversely affecting the potential efficiency and effectiveness of such a system
is the lack of standardization in many of the underlying data tables necessary for system operation. Such
lack of standardization has traditionally been either tolerated for lack of an alternative, or if addressed,
has been done so in a traditional exception basis that has proven to be only marginally effective and
grossly inefficient.
Dr. Optenberg will demonstrate 'real time' to the attending audience, directly employing the software tool
dfPower Studio 5.0 by DataFlux (a SAS company), the standardization of what, at first review, would
appear to be an extremely resource intensive, if not a prohibitively expensive task.
NOTE
At the time of publication, no paper had been received. Please contact the author.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Scott Optenberg
SRO Consulting
[email protected]
SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS
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