New Data: CMS County-Level Chronic Conditions

Map showing the prevalence of diabetes among the
Medicare population by county.

 New data available in HealthLandscape!

Last month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released new data about Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries who have chronic conditions. This data set is now available in HealthLandscape's Community HealthView data library.

Threshold map showing counties where diabetes prevalance
among the Medicare population exceeds 30 percent.

This data set tracks 15 chronic conditions and lists their prevalence by county:

• Alzheimer's disease, related disorders, or senile dementia
• Arthritis (including rheumatoid and osteoarthritis)
• Asthma
• Atrial fibrillation
• Cancer (breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate)
• Chronic kidney disease
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Depression
• Diabetes (excluding diabetic conditions
  related to pregnancy)
• Heart failure
• High cholesterol (hyperlipidemia)
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• Ischemic heart disease
• Osteoporosis
• Stroke/transient ischemic attack 

Map showing the emergency department visit rate by county
for Medicare population with 6 or more chronic conditions.

The data set also includes data for Medicare beneficiaries who have multiple chronic conditions. It tracks:

• Prevalance by county
• Spending per capita
• Emergency department visit rate
• Hospital readmission rate

To access this data set, log in to www.HealthLandscape.org (registration is free), click "Community HealthView" on the Tools menu, and enter "chronic conditions" in the search field. You'll see the list of available data sets.

For a more detailed overview of HealthLandscape and our Community HealthView data library, click here to sign up for an "Introduction to HealthLandscape" webinar.

School-Based Health Center Performance Monitor Wins Award

HealthLandscape's interactive visualization of school-based health center (SBHC) performance was recognized as one of the top three web-based GIS applications in Esri's User Software Applications Fair last week at the 2013 Esri International User Conference in San Diego.

The School-Based Health Center Performance Monitor is based on our Site Performance Explorer, a tool we created to help organizations monitor performance of multiple sites. Specifically, the School-Based Health Center Performance Monitor compares the number of vision, dental, and hearing screening referrals SBHCs complete against benchmarks.

Click here to try it out.

HealthLandscape's School-Based Health Center Performance Monitor shows instantly how well a particular school-based health center is performing against benchmarks.

Each SBHC is mapped and given a red, yellow, or green label according to its performance. When the user's cursor hovers over a specific SBHC, three windows appear, showing how well the center is meeting vision, dental, and hearing screening goals. Users can instantly see which focus area needs attention.

The Site Performance Explorer can be used with any kind of benchmarking data. Organizations select the indicators they want to track and establish benchmark values. The Site Performance Explorer then compares actual performance against goals to give a visual indicator of performance.

We'll be highlighting the Site Performance Explorer in our upcoming "Visualizing Data with HealthLandscape" webinar on Tuesday, July 30, at 2:00 pm. Registration is free. Click here to register or email us for more information.

Thanks, Esri Users, for voting us as one of your favorites. And a shout-out to Blue Raster, our development partner, for winning in the Mobile GIS App category!

will.i.am and i.am.angel Foundation Promote STEM Education Through GIS

Roosevelt High School students presenting their
GIS projects at the 2013 Esri User Conference.

We're at the Esri International User Conference this week and want to share with you two amazing presentations featuring will.i.am and the i.am.angel Foundation's work to integrate geographic information systems (GIS) with STEM education in the East LA neighborhood of Boyle Heights.

will.i.am at the 2013 Esri User Conference sharing his passion
for transforming his Boyle Heights neighborhood via STEM.

will's vision of transforming inner cities into desired places of living includes getting STEM tools into the hands of students at very young ages, and working with companies to invest in coding rooms instead of just basketball courts and football fields.

The first video ("STEM & GIS in Schools with Amber Case, Charlie Fitzpatrick, i.am.angel and Roosevelt High School," 19:24) shows four Roosevelt High School students and the local problems they visualized with GIS:

• The disparity between race, income, and education as described by Jonathan Kozol in his book Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools
• Access to parks ("We are a park poor community")
• The high level of visual pollution (excess advertising via billboards)
• The proximity of brownfields to students' residences

In the second video ("Special Guest will.i.am and Jack Dangermond," 39:30), will.i.am shares his passion to instill hope and bring real opportunity to neighborhoods like Boyle Heights, the Fifth Ward (Houston), and the Bronx.

To watch the videos, click here. You'll see the plenary videos listed in the center of the screen. Scroll down and look for the titles shown above. It's a bit of effort to find the videos, but worth it.

HealthLandscape is built on the Esri ArcGIS mapping platform. Contact us at info@healthlandscape.org to see how we can help you map your neighborhood.

HealthLandscape Helps Researchers Visualize the Outcomes of Institutions that Provide Graduate Medical Education

The process for becoming a medical doctor in the United States is a lengthy one. First, the prospective physician must get an undergraduate degree (typically four years), then undergo four additional years of medical education, followed by a residency, which takes three to seven more years depending on the specialty. Candidates cannot take their board examinations until they have completed a residency.

The residency stage, called Graduate Medical Education (GME), is heavily funded by Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal programs. At present, there are few mechanisms in place to hold GME institutions accountable for the use of federal funding, which seems unwise, especially given ongoing workforce shortages in certain practice specialties and geographic areas.

The current issue of Academic Medicine (Vol. 88, No. 9/September 2013) features an article written by Candice Chen et al., in which she and her colleagues describe their evaluation of outcomes of institutions that provide GME. They analyzed the 2011 American Medical Association (AMA) Masterfile and other data sets to determine how many GME institutions graduated physicians whose specialty was in primary care, psychiatry, or general surgery. Chen and her coauthors also examined where the graduates were practicing post-residency.

HealthLandscape developed the GME Outcomes Mapper to help with the analysis, and as a tool to promote ongoing accountability among GME institutions. GME programs and practice sites are displayed on an interactive map and can be filtered by state. Users can also search for a specific GME program.

The GME Outcomes Mapper is a tool that promotes ongoing accountability among institutions and practice sites that provide Graduate Medical Education (GME).

Tooltips display multiple indicators about each location, including the number of graduates per institution or site; the number of graduates who went into primary care, psychiatry, or general surgery; and the number of graduates who are now practicing in rural areas.

Tooltips display multiple indicators for each GME institution or practice site. Data for New Hanover Regional Medical Center (North Carolina) is shown above.

The GME Outcomes Mapper is available on the Robert Graham Center website. The Robert Graham Center's mission is to improve individual and population health by enhancing delivery of primary care. Its offices are in Washington, DC.

HealthLandscape has a wide range of tools that can help you meet your data visualization needs. We also develop custom tools for specific applications. For more information, email info@healthlandscape.org or call 513.458.6674.  

Using Facts Matter to Map Mental Health Status in Greater Cincinnati

In recognition of National Prevention Week, we are drawing attention to health issues related to substance abuse and prevention. National Prevention Week is an annual health observance designed to increase public awareness of, and action around, substance abuse and mental health issues. This year's theme is: "Your voice. Your choice. Make a difference."

Facts Matter is a data portal created by HealthLandscape and funded by the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, and the Haile/U.S. Bank Foundation to support the region's collective impact efforts. Multiple organizations contribute indicator data, which can be displayed at the county, tract, or neighborhood level.

The map below shows the region's mental health status. Data comes from the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati/Greater Cincinnati Community Health Status Survey and reflects the quality of life or function as influenced by mental conditions.

Facts Matter map view. Darker shading represents better mental health status.

Mapped data can also be shown in a chart or graph:

Facts Matter chart view.

Facts Matter graph view.

Is your community following the community impact model to promote change and well-being? What tools are you using to collect and share local data? Post a comment below to join the conversation.

HealthLandscape data portals like Facts Matter are deployed nationwide and internationally. They can display any kind of population data: community health needs assessment data, community benefits data, hospital quality and population data, educational readiness data, and more. If you would like to learn how your organization can get a data portal up and running in your community, please contact us at 513.458.6722 or send an email to info@healthlandscape.org. You can also sign up for a "Community Indicator Data Portal" webinar at www.HealthLandscape.org.

Comparing Levels of Social-Emotional Support with Suicide Rates in Greater Cincinnati

In recognition of National Prevention Week, we are drawing attention to health issues related to substance abuse and prevention. National Prevention Week is an annual health observance designed to increase public awareness of, and action around, substance abuse and mental health issues. This year's theme is: "Your voice. Your choice. Make a difference."

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) collects state data about U.S. residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services. Persons 18 years of age and older are contacted via telephone and surveyed using a standard core questionnaire, and may be asked additional optional or state-specific questions.

The map below is based on the BRFSS question: "How often do you get the social and emotional support you need?" Persons were considered to be receiving sufficient emotional/social support if they reported getting social/emotional support all or most of the time. Darker shading represents higher levels of social/emotional support. (Data is from 2006-2010.)

The second map shows the number of deaths due to suicide per 100,000 population (2005-2009). Data is from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS). In the United States, decisions about whether deaths are listed as suicides on death certificates are usually made by a coroner or medical examiner. The definition of suicide is "death arising from an act inflicted upon oneself with the intent to kill oneself."

What questions come to mind when you compare the two maps? Could there be some relationship between the level of social/emotional support and the number of deaths due to suicide? Post a comment below to join the conversation. 

Additional BRFSS and NVSS data is available using the Community HealthView tool in HealthLandscape. Go to www.HealthLandscape.org to register for a free account or to sign up for a free "Introduction to HealthLandscape" webinar.

Mapping Binge Drinking in the Cincinnati Region

In recognition of National Prevention Week, we are drawing attention to health issues related to substance abuse and prevention. National Prevention Week is an annual health observance designed to increase public awareness of, and action around, substance abuse and mental health issues. This year's theme is: "Your voice. Your choice. Make a difference."

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) publishes the locations of substance abuse and mental health treatment centers. We have incorporated a SAMHSA Facility Mapper tool into HealthLandscape to help individuals and community agencies locate treatment centers, and to enable agencies to overlay SAMHSA site data with other population characteristics in their region.

For example, the map below shows SAMHSA facilities in Greater Cincinnati. The legend identifies whether the facility's focus is on substance abuse, mental health and substance abuse (some mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety can also occur in people who abuse alcohol), or some other form of treatment.

Basic information about each center (name, address, type of care, web site if available, and form of payment assistance) is shown in the tooltip, which appears when you click on one of the site locators.

The map also shows rates of binge drinking among adults 18 years of age and older in Greater Cincinnati who responded to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) question: "Considering all types of alcoholic beverages, how many times during the past 30 days did you have [5 for men, 4 for women] or more drinks on an occasion?"

HealthLandscape has data for SAMHSA facilities nationwide. To access the SAMHSA Facility Mapper:

1. Log on to www.HealthLandscape.org (registration is free).
2. Select SAMHSA Facility Mapper under the Tools menu.
3. Use the Zoom feature to locate a facility in your area of interest.

Are there collaborative efforts in your community to address alcohol abuse and dependence issues? How are you using data to advance your mission? Post a comment below to join the conversation.