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Insight GIS
Leveraging GIS in Public Health to
improve decision making
Our world is changing rapidly. The worldwide public health community has targeted and eradicated some infectious diseases, but overall the list of concerns continues to grow. Chronic diseases are taking a toll. Many of these health concerns have a spatial component. Increasingly, public health organizations are in need of geographic knowledge to assist in making consistent and accurate decisions.
What is GIS?
GIS stands for “geographic information system,” an organized collection of computer hardware, software, geographic data, and personnel designed to effectively capture, store, manipulate, analyze and display all forms of geographically-referenced information. Many people think of GIS just as maps, but when thinking about GIS in a health context it is important to redefine or broaden your view of GIS. GIS should be viewed not just as a mapping tool, but as a means of organizing data. While visualization of data on maps is important, public health professionals should also consider how the “geographic tag” can be substituted for more traditional tags such as Social Security number, account number, etc., and how this can assist them in the research, planning and implementation of programs.
INSIGHT GIS MODULE
Netsmart is an ESRI Business Partner and leverages ArcWeb Services to provide GIS capabilities within Netsmart’s Insight public health product.
ArcWeb Services are ESRI’s hosted GIS Web services, and provide access to spatial content and GIS functionality via the Internet. These services provide access to terabytes of information without the need to store, manage and update the data locally. ArcWeb Services also provides GIS capabilities without the need to install additional software because it is seamlessly integrated into Netsmart Insight public health software.
Within Insight, GIS capabilities are available for all Insight modules where addresses are captured. A user can simply select a GIS option when appropriate and the GIS data will be seamlessly displayed within Insight.
Netsmart is using the following categories of ESRI functionality:
- Geocoding clients within the system by address
- Mapping to create thematic maps based on the ESRI data
- Authentication that generates a token with a user-defined expiration
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
Addresses entered into Insight are parsed into standard geographic components. Entering Zip Code populates City, County and State automatically.
Registration mailing street address can be checked and mapped using ESRI mapping. ESRI verifies the address and maps it if it is valid.
GROUP MAPPING
Summary screens for most Insight modules permit searching based on selected criteria. Results for patients, contacts, facilities, etc. that involve addresses can be mapped.
Epidemiology Example
Search by Diagnosis provides an address location map for all cases with the selected diagnosis. This is useful for outbreak and visit mapping.
STD Example
Search by Contact provides an address location map for all patient contacts. This is also useful for tracking and visit mapping.
BUSINESS BENEFITS OF INTEGRATED GIS
GIS is an ideal platform and tool for public health professionals to properly plan, manage and monitor any public health program. It helps a public health department gain a realistic assessment of a situation and target resources as appropriate. It also enables public health professionals to take into consideration demographics, availability of and accessibility to existing health and social services, as well as other geographic and environmental considerations. Additional benefits derived from integrated GIS functionality with a public health information management system include:
- Enhances evidenced-based decision making
- Improves the quality of data collection and analysis
- Brings a relevancy to data analysis and information presentation
- Streamlines workflow and processes
- Reduces unnecessary resource utilization
Shortens disaster response time
Aids in budget planning and revenue audits
Increases technology ROI
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