Agency updates will focus on automating reporting process, shifting resources to contextualize data
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma State Department of Health announced updates to the state’s COVID-19 data reporting process in the daily Executive Order report. The new reporting protocols will focus on application of the data to make informed decisions about Coronavirus in Oklahoma.
“These updates put us in a position to better utilize the technology we have in order to automate the data reporting process as much as possible,” said Dr. Jared Taylor, state epidemiologist. “Currently, we have qualified data experts spending all day every day crunching numbers just to keep up with reporting. By increasing automation in this process, our experts can spend less time pulling numbers and more time giving context to the data. We believe this will ultimately improve our outcomes, as citizens can make actionable decisions from these improved reports.”
The agency intends for the adjustments to streamline reporting and shift resources to analyze the numbers being reported. Updates are accounted for in the amended Executive Order signed by Gov. Stitt on Oct. 23, and ensure the agency is meeting reporting requirements set by state leadership.
“We believe we can have a better data process, one that is more sustainable for our employees but just as open and transparent to Oklahomans who are closely keeping track of COVID-19,” said Interim Commissioner of Health, Dr. Lance Frye. “With over seven months of data reporting experience, we have been able to pinpoint what numbers are more useful and require a daily updating cadence. The amended Executive Order allowed us to evaluate and update things like frequency of reporting so we can provide the most relevant information while remaining transparent. Though some items have been removed from the daily EO report, we want to reassure everyone that the agency remains committed to transparency and will have this data available through other reporting methods as outlined below.”
Some changes impact timeline and frequency of reporting, while others impact what numbers are reported out. Data that is removed from the daily report will be included elsewhere to ensure the public still has access to the information. The full list of items being removed from the daily Executive Order report include:
- PICU, ventilator, negative flow numbers
- Number of patients ever hospitalized; this number will be available on the website dashboard
- Days PPE; this number will be available on the website dashboard
- Cumulative percentage positive
- Cumulative demographic data; will be available on the website dashboard and will also include cumulative age groups in weekly epidemiological report
- Cumulative hospitalization stats (i.e. average age); will be available on the weekly epidemiological report
- Health Care Personnel (HCP) or Long-term Care (LTC) employees; will be available on the weekly epidemiological report
- Long-term Care facility associated cases and deaths; will be available on the weekly epidemiological report with the addition of LTC data by county and facility
- Line listing of all labs reporting; will be available as daily totals in the EO report
- Number of tests available, reagents and rate limiting resource; data is unreliable
For the most recent updates on Coronavirus in Oklahoma, visit https://coronavirus.health.ok.gov/.
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