data Appointments, Vacancies and Government IT: Reforming Personnel Data Systems By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 John Hudak argues for reforming personnel data systems – more carefully tracking both appointments and vacancies within government offices – in order to ensure that agency efficacy is not compromised. Hudak recommends several revisions that would immediately recognize vacancies, track government positions and personnel more carefully, and eliminate long-standing vacancies that reduce the efficiency within a department or agency. He asks Congress to stop its cries of “waste” and “inefficiency” and instead push data system improvements that will limit these issues. Full Article
data New polling data show Trump faltering in key swing states—here’s why By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 17:25:27 +0000 While the country’s attention has been riveted on the COVID-19 pandemic, the general election contest is quietly taking shape, and the news for President Trump is mostly bad. After moving modestly upward in March, approval of his handling of the pandemic has fallen back to where it was when the crisis began, as has his… Full Article
data Development Seminar | Unemployment and domestic violence — New evidence from administrative data By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 12 Feb 2020 13:09:07 +0000 We hosted a Development Seminar on “Unemployment and domestic violence — new evidence from administrative data” with Dr. Sonia Bhalotra, Professor of Economics at University of Essex. Abstract: This paper provides possibly the first causal estimates of how individual job loss among men influences the risk of intimate partner violence (IPV), distinguishing threats from assaults. The authors find… Full Article
data The value of systemwide, high-quality data in early childhood education By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 20 Feb 2020 17:38:04 +0000 High-quality early learning experiences—those filled with stimulating and supportive interactions between children and caregivers—can have long-lasting impacts for children, families, and society. Unfortunately, many families, particularly low-income families, struggle to find any affordable early childhood education (ECE) program, much less programs that offer engaging learning opportunities that are likely to foster long-term benefits. This post… Full Article
data Measuring state and metro global trade and investment strategies in the absence of data By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 A dilemma surrounds global trade and investment efforts in metro areas. Economic development leaders are increasingly convinced that global engagement matters, but they are equally (and justifiably) convinced that they should use data to better determine which programs generate the highest return on investment. Therein lies the problem: there is a lack of data suitable for measuring export and foreign direct investment (FDI) activity in metro areas. Economic theory and company input validate the tactics that metros are implementing – such as developing export capacity of mid-sized firms, or strategically responding to foreign mergers and acquisitions – but they barely impact the data typically used to evaluate economic development success. Full Article Uncategorized
data New polling data show Trump faltering in key swing states—here’s why By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 17:25:27 +0000 While the country’s attention has been riveted on the COVID-19 pandemic, the general election contest is quietly taking shape, and the news for President Trump is mostly bad. After moving modestly upward in March, approval of his handling of the pandemic has fallen back to where it was when the crisis began, as has his… Full Article
data Beyond Arithmetic: How Medicare Data Can Drive Innovation By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 06 Jun 2014 00:00:00 -0400 Five years ago, my mother needed an orthopedic surgeon for a knee replacement. Unable to find any data, we went with an academic doctor that was recommended to us (she suffered surgical complications). Last month, we were again looking for an orthopedic surgeon- this time hoping that a steroid injection in her spine might allay the need for invasive back surgery. This time, thanks to a recent data dump from CMS, I was able to analyze some information about Medicare providers in her area and determine the most experienced doctor for the job. Of 453 orthopedic surgeons in Maryland, only a handful had been paid by Medicare for the procedure more than 10 times. The leading surgeon had done 263- as many as the next 10 combined. We figured he might be the best person to go to, and we were right- the procedure went like clockwork. Had it been a month prior to the CMS data release, I wouldn’t have had the data at my fingertips. And I certainly wouldn’t have found the most experienced hand in less than 10 minutes. It’s been a couple of month since the release of Medicare data by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) on the volume and cost of services billed by healthcare providers, and despite the whiff of scandal surrounding the highest paid providers (including the now-famous Florida ophthalmologist that received $21 million) the analyses so far have been somewhat unsurprising. This week, coinciding with the fifth Health DataPalooza, is a good time to take stock of the utility of this data, its limitations, and what the future may hold. The millions of lines of data was exactly as advertised: charges and paid services under traditional Medicare “fee-for-service,” including the billing provider’s ID and the costs to Medicare. The initial headlines touting “Medicare Millionaires” relied on some basic arithmetic and some sorting. And the cautions piled up: the data could reflect multiple providers billing under a single ID; payments are not the same as a provider’s actual take home income; it’s not complete information as it doesn’t contain information about other insurers, or even Medicare Advantage, and so on. But perhaps most damning was how little insight the data seemed to provide on the quality or value of care provided, as opposed to volume of services. As Lisa Rosenbaum wrote in the New Yorker, “So much of that good isn’t captured by these numbers. You don’t bill for talking to a patient about how he wants to die. There’s no code for providing reassurance rather than ordering a test.” Where is the value in the data? Data bear witness to the fundamental flaw of the payment system that generates them. The absence of information on quality, safety, appropriateness, or outcomes appears to have been a genuine revelation to many, but it is in fact exactly the type of output that we should expect from this volume-based system that we have built. This is not a critique of the data release. It is an indictment of our payment system. Data is revealing important trends in how we pay doctors differently. Not all physician payments are created equal, and the data certainly shows the disparities across specialties, primary care, and others. For example, the average total annual Medicare payment to geriatricians was less than $100,000, while dermatologists and radiation oncologists (who presumably also see non-elderly patients) received on average $200,000 and $360,000 respectively. The important question will be why and should it continue? Figure 1: Distribution of Total Medicare Pay by Provider Type, 2012 Source: Author's calculations based on Medicare data released in April 2014 Data is revealing important indicators of cost and pricing – a major contributor to rising health care costs. Why is it that a brief visit with a geriatrician is worth $13; a 45-minute visit with a geriatrician sorting through medications, educating family members, and developing a quality of life plan with a terminal cancer patient is worth $79; and a dermatologist treating suspected skin cancer can earn upwards of $600 for a procedure that takes them minutes? Data sheds light on practice patterns. The data is also revealing important variances in utilization of drugs and treatments. For example, a block apart on Park Avenue, two ophalmologists differ significantly in their use of treatments for macular degeneration. One uses expensive injectable drugs and gets paid over $10,000 per injection, while the other receives less than $500 for the lower-cost equivalent. A CBS News report looked at spinal fusion surgeries—a procedure where there is almost no evidence demonstrating a net benefit to patients compared to other conservative therapies. They observed that “while the average spine surgeon performed them on 7 percent of patients they saw, some did so on 35 percent.” At the extremes, outlier “practice pattern” begins to raise questions of potential improper billing or outright fraud and abuse. For example, simply looking at the frequency and volume of services provided to individual beneficiaries can identify concerning outliers. This laboratory company billed for 28,954 blood glucose reagent strips in 2012- for 88 patients. And yes, that’s highly unusual. Figure 2: "Outlier" Medicare Billing for Blood Glucose Reagent Strips, 2012 Source: Author's calculations based on Medicare data released in April 2014 One clinical social worker billed for 1,697 separate days of service on 28 patients (the size of the bubble is proportional to the total amount of reimbursement by Medicare in 2012). Figure 3: "Outlier" Medicare Billing for Days of Service, 2012 Source: Author's calculations based on Medicare data released in April 2014 The most extreme outlier, Dr. Gary Ordog, was named by NPR and ProPublica in their examination of providers who are outliers on their pattern of coding for the highest intensity office. Ordog had previously lost the right to bill California’s state Medicaid program, and yet continued to charge Medicare for over $500,000 in billing in 2012. It’s important to caution however, that even in these extreme outliers, statistics alone cannot provide definitive evidence of abuse. There is a need for formal investigation. Medicare and law enforcement officials will need to create new processes for dealing with a potential flood of outlier reports from amateur sleuths like me. What's Next for Medicare Data? Data can be trended. Updates of data releases can begin to show us not just snapshots, but moving pictures of our healthcare system as it undergoes rapid changes. The New York Times reported on the increase in charges for certain frequent causes of hospitalization between 2011 and 2012. It will be interesting to see whether the data release itself, and the Steven Brill landmark Time article on hospital charges, have an impact on reversing these trends. Data can be “mashed up”. The value of open data is hugely greater than the sum of its parts. As more and more data becomes available, the files can be cross-linked and “mashed up” to be able to answer questions no one database could have. ProPublica linked together cobbled together data on state actions and sanctions on physicians with the Medicare data release to ask why these physicians are still being paid by Medicare. What does the future hold? Correlations with drug prescribing data, meaningful use, and referral patterns are possible today, Sunshine Act disclosures and quality reporting, and much more is soon to come. As we get comfortable with the data, analysts can move past the basics of arithmetic and sorting, we have an opportunity to make more ‘meaningful use’ of this data. We can begin to identify practice patterns, overuse, variations in geography or demographics, and potentially even fraud and abuse. As more and more data becomes available, the files can be cross-linked and “mashed up” to be able to answer questions no one database could have addressed. What will determine the value of the Medicare data release will be the creativity of those data scientists, epidemiologists, and health services researchers (amateur as well as professional) who can ask the challenging questions that must be answered. Authors Farzad Mostashari Full Article
data New polling data show Trump faltering in key swing states—here’s why By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 17:25:27 +0000 While the country’s attention has been riveted on the COVID-19 pandemic, the general election contest is quietly taking shape, and the news for President Trump is mostly bad. After moving modestly upward in March, approval of his handling of the pandemic has fallen back to where it was when the crisis began, as has his… Full Article
data New polling data show Trump faltering in key swing states—here’s why By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 17:25:27 +0000 While the country’s attention has been riveted on the COVID-19 pandemic, the general election contest is quietly taking shape, and the news for President Trump is mostly bad. After moving modestly upward in March, approval of his handling of the pandemic has fallen back to where it was when the crisis began, as has his… Full Article
data Using extractive industry data to fight inequality & strengthen accountability: Victories, lessons, future directions for Africa By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 14 Oct 2019 14:21:07 +0000 With the goal of improving the management of oil, gas, and mineral revenues, curbing corruption, and fighting inequality, African countries—like Ghana, Kenya, Guinea, and Liberia—are stepping up their efforts to support good governance in resource-dependent countries. Long-fought-for gains in transparency—including from initiatives like the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)—have helped civil society and other accountability… Full Article
data The effect of COVID-19 and disease suppression policies on labor markets: A preliminary analysis of the data By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 27 Apr 2020 16:20:54 +0000 World leaders are deliberating when and how to re-open business operations amidst considerable uncertainty as to the economic consequences of the coronavirus. One pressing question is whether or not countries that have remained relatively open have managed to escape at least some of the economic harm, and whether that harm is related to the spread… Full Article
data Tour Facebook's New Energy Efficient Data Center (Video) By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Mon, 02 May 2011 15:09:00 -0400 Facebook just opened their newest data center, which they've pushed to make as energy efficient as possible. In fact, it even inspired the Open Compute project in which they open source every last detail about the data Full Article Technology
data Share your idea for how big data can help the environment and score a trip to the Eye on Earth Summit in Abu Dhabi By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 21 Jul 2015 11:00:06 -0400 The Eye on Earth Summit aims to harness the power of data and new data gathering technologies to help the environment and support sustainable development. Full Article Uncategorized
data Solar and Wave-Powered Wave Glider Survives Hurricane Sandy, Transmits Dramatic Weather Data By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 07 Nov 2012 09:07:00 -0500 The wave glider created by Iquid Robotics has passed quite a test for robustness. It coasted through the superstorm and provided real time weather data nonstop. Full Article Technology
data Microsoft Using Biogas Fuel Cell to Power Wyoming Data Center By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:53:26 -0500 The fuel cell is part of Microsoft's Data Plant project to build a zero carbon data center. Full Article Technology
data Coolest Data Center Job Can Be Found At The South Pole! By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:42:00 -0400 If you think data center jobs are boring, think again! The IceCube Observatory's data center on Antarctica is an amazing opportunity for adventurous geeks. Full Article Technology
data Massive Norwegian data center will be fully powered by renewable energy By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 22 Aug 2017 11:02:21 -0400 The data center will be the largest in the world. Full Article Technology
data Facebook Unveils Massive 'Green' Datacenter Near Arctic Circle By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 28 Oct 2011 14:14:00 -0400 Cooling servers requires a lot of energy, so why not locate them somewhere that is always cold? Full Article Business
data Facebook launches live data center efficiency dashboard By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:07:26 -0400 You can now view the energy and water efficiency performance of the company's North Carolina and Oregon data centers in real-time. Full Article Technology
data Dynamic map of river's 15,000 history is made with lasers & data By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 02 Dec 2015 13:45:09 -0500 Data is not just for the internet giants; using remote laser-sensing technology, it can generate lovely maps of a river's long-past history too. Full Article Science
data Google to transform carcass of Alabama coal power plant into clean-powered datacenter By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 25 Jun 2015 14:59:50 -0400 Using the bones of old-world infrastructure to build new-world infrastructure. Full Article Technology
data Energy Star Moving Beyond Data Servers, Certifying Entire Data Centers By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 10 Feb 2010 08:30:00 -0500 "For the US in 2006, online data centres accounted for 1.5 percent of the entire country's electricity use - equating to more than the entire state of Massachusetts. " View the chart up close...Really interesting facts/stats! Image via GDS Digital via Full Article Technology
data eBay's Desert Data Center Gets Into Hot Water By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 01 Mar 2012 16:21:10 -0500 Cooling a data center in one of the hottest parts of the USA can be done by using hot water, as eBay's Phoenix facility finds. Full Article Technology
data World's first carbon-negative data center coming to Sweden By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Mon, 02 Mar 2015 07:00:00 -0500 The makers of the EcoDataCenter prefer the term "climate-positive." Full Article Technology
data What's the Big Deal on Big Data? By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:18:00 -0400 The US federal government announced a big bet on big data today. What is Big Data, what does the government have to do with it, and where could this lead? Full Article Technology
data Data storage could soon be 8 percent of the world's energy use By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Mon, 27 Jan 2020 14:26:14 -0500 There is a real footprint to all those baby pictures and Netflix binges. Full Article Energy
data Google's Super-Efficient Belgium Data Center Operates at 95 Degrees F By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:20:03 -0400 Google's St. Ghislain, Belgium data center is its most efficient thanks in part to letting the server areas run at temperatures up to 95 degrees. Full Article Technology
data Japanese aluminum company fabricated data about strength, durability By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 13 Oct 2017 15:00:33 -0400 Another reason that we have to use less of the stuff. Full Article Business
data Microsoft sank a data center in the ocean. On purpose. By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 03 Feb 2016 10:32:51 -0500 The underwater data center is an innovative attempt by the company to create more sustainable, energy efficient data centers. Full Article Technology
data Microsoft's data centers in Ireland are getting an influx of wind power By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 11 Oct 2017 11:47:51 -0400 The tech giant just agreed to purchase all of the energy from GE's Tullahennel wind farm. Full Article Technology
data Microsoft submerges data center off Scotland's Orkney Islands By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 07 Jun 2018 11:40:37 -0400 This is the second deployment of the tech company's underwater data center project. Full Article Technology
data Coal Ash Spill in Lake Michigan Occurs Within Days of New EPA Data on Hazardous Coal Ash Ponds By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:20:00 -0400 Researchers concluded that the spill probably doesn't pose a significant environmental risk, but the ash contained heavy metals like arsenic, lead and mercury. Full Article Energy
data Facebook 'likes' clean power, new Texas data center to be powered by 100% wind energy By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 09 Jul 2015 15:17:17 -0400 All those cat pictures and viral videos won't harm the Earth. Full Article Technology
data Man who lives alone in the woods has recorded 40 years of important data on snow By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 04 Jan 2017 12:37:52 -0500 In a ghost town in the one of the coldest places in the US, lone resident Billy Barr has spent 4 decades recording snowfall … to the enormous delight of scientists. Full Article Science
data Nexity conjoncture logement - 9m 2014: Un marché fragile soutenu par les ventes en bloc - NEXITY CONJONCTURE LOGEMENT - DATA MARCHE ET CHIFFRES NEXITY By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: 30 Oct 2014 14:10:00 EDT NEXITY CONJONCTURE LOGEMENT - DATA MARCHE ET CHIFFRES NEXITY Full Article Banking Financial Services Real Estate Commercial Real Estate Residential Real Estate Survey Polls & Research
data Cubbit stores your data with a footprint that is a fraction of the cloud's By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 05 Nov 2019 15:38:08 -0500 Who needs a cloud when you can have a hive? Full Article Technology
data Data From One of Europe's Largest Independent Liver Transplant Registries Reveals Improved Graft Survival Benefit in Patients Receiving Advagraf™ Prolonged Release Tacrolimus Compared to Those on Tacrolimus Immediate Release - Dr Aluvihare By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: 24 Feb 2015 10:36:00 EST Dr Aluvihare Full Article Biotechnology Healthcare Hospitals Medical Pharmaceuticals Clinical Trials Medical Discoveries MultiVu Video
data Chiasma Announces New Data for Investigational Octreotide Capsules - A Discussion on Acromegaly By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: 06 Mar 2015 16:10:00 EST Hear a patient’s perspective on acromegaly and learn more about recent clinical data on investigational octreotide capsules. Full Article Medical Pharmaceuticals Pharmaceuticals New Products Services Broadcast Feed Announcements Survey Polls & Research MultiVu Video
data NEW DATA EVALUATING THE BOSTON SCIENTIFIC ELUVIA™ DRUG-ELUTING VASCULAR STENT SYSTEM DEMONSTRATE 94.4 PERCENT PRIMARY PATENCY RATE AT NINE MONTHS - Hear from Professor Stefan Müller-Hülsbeck, M.D., PhD, MAJESTIC trial principal investigator By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: 28 Apr 2015 12:47:00 EDT Hear from Professor Stefan Müller-Hülsbeck, M.D., PhD, MAJESTIC trial principal investigator Full Article Healthcare Hospitals Medical Pharmaceuticals Medical Equipment Broadcast Feed Announcements Clinical Trials Medical Discoveries MultiVu Video
data Asia stocks little changed as data shows China's exports unexpectedly rose in April By www.cnbc.com Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 07:20:30 GMT Data showed China's exports rose 3.5% from a year ago, versus a 15.7% decline in a Reuters poll. Full Article
data Millions can't access unemployment benefits so actual job losses are likely greater than data shows By www.cnbc.com Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2020 20:49:41 GMT The number of Americans who have lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic could be even bleaker than official government data suggests. Full Article
data Markets have priced in bad economic data, but not trade tensions: Strategist By www.cnbc.com Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 03:47:06 GMT Markets are unlikely to react to bad economic data in the second quarter, says Brian Belski of BMO Capital Markets, adding that any volatility seen near-term will be from a resurgence in U.S.-China trade tensions. Full Article
data Payroll processor ADP CEO says hiring data indicate the jobs market has begun to 'stabilize' By www.cnbc.com Published On :: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 01:24:12 GMT After weeks of record unemployment claims across the country, "we have seen a couple of indicators of some bottoming," ADP CEO Carlos Rodriguez told CNBC. Full Article
data CES will propel gains for tech investors, historical data shows By www.cnbc.com Published On :: Fri, 10 Jan 2020 19:06:57 GMT The Consumer Electronics Show, which kicked off Tuesday, could produce more gains for the tech sector, according to hedge fund trading tool Kensho. Historical data shows the VanEck Vectors Semiconductors ETF logs an average gain of nearly 1% during the four-day span of CES. Full Article
data Labor Secretary Scalia on April jobs data: These are very difficult numbers for us to see By www.cnbc.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 18:57:26 GMT CNBC's Tyler Mathisen talks about the historic job losses in April with Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia. Full Article
data How coronavirus data from history is helping fight COVID-19 By blogs.nature.com Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 12:51:47 +0000 Originally posted on - blogs by NPG staffMany of us had heard the term ‘coronavirus’ for the first time at the office lunch table. Our team lunches are unusual, discussing topics that range from evolution, to bodily functions to Bollywood. The scientific experts in the team were trying to explain how the coronavirus works, its relation to respiration and the conspiracy theories associated with it. Read more Full Article Academics Careers Publishing Sciences
data all my personal data By www.toothpastefordinner.com Published On :: Tue, 07 Jul 2015 04:00:00 EDT Today on Toothpaste For Dinner: all my personal dataThe Worst Things For Sale is Drew's blog. It updates every day. Subscribe to the Worst Things For Sale RSS! Full Article comic
data AI can search satellite data to find plastic floating in the sea By www.newscientist.com Published On :: Thu, 23 Apr 2020 16:00:13 +0000 AI can check satellite images of the ocean and distinguish between floating materials such as seaweed or plastics, which could help clean-up efforts Full Article
data Report says cellphone data suggests October shutdown at Wuhan lab, but experts are skeptical By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 20:12:00 -0400 U.S. and U.K. intel agencies are reviewing the private report, but intel analysts examined and couldn't confirm a similar theory previously. Full Article
data Coronavirus: How does contact tracing work and is my data safe? By www.bbc.co.uk Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 14:59:55 GMT Millions in the UK will soon be asked to download an app that helps to limit coronavirus spreading. Full Article
