making. Yes, I would be very much inclined to have as many clinicians as possible participate in important roles in the agency. Having said that, though, I really
want to emphasize that I’m extremely impressed by the folks we do have in place. I have an excellent team. And even if they don’t necessarily have a clinical background, it’s been my defi- nite experience so far that those folks are very sensitive to clinical issues. They realize they can’t make deci- sions in a vacuum; they have to make decisions that make sense and allow our programs to be successful in serv- ing people, and that always has some clinical part of it.
Texas Medicine: What kind of shape is DSHS in with regard to data collec- tion and output?
Dr. Hellerstedt: This is the age of data; it’s the age of mega-data. I don’t want to say that we’re ever satisfied with our ability to collect data be- cause we always have more and can do better. In some areas, we are in fact very strong. Certainly, our ability to analyze that data once we get it is very good. The bigger question is: Are there types of data or areas of data that we don’t collect that are really important to our mission and impor- tant to public health? The other thing that’s very obvious
to anyone who works with health care data is, it’s all about the point of con- tact of the patient with some health- related system, whether that’s actually medical care or health care, hospitals, clinics, doctors, or other types of agen- cies that are part of DSHS. Are we get- ting from those sources the kind of actionable data that we want? Our state leadership rightfully
wanted, for instance, to use Medic- aid data as an instrument to improve the health of the people it served, and therefore improve the health of Tex- ans. For the most part though, a lot of the data they had were financially based data — administrative data,
May 2016 TEXAS MEDICINE 59
ZIKA VIRUS FACTS FROM CDC
Transmission: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention (CDC) says Zika virus is transmitted primarily through the bite of infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Pregnant mothers can pass Zika to their fetuses. Men can spread the disease to sex partners. In February, Brazilian health oficials reported cases of Zika infection through blood transfusion; as of March, CDC said it was investigating those reports.
Common symptoms: Fever, rash, joint pain, muscle pain, red eyes, and headache. Most people don’t develop symptoms and don’t know they have the disease.
Incubation period: Unknown, but it is likely to be a few days to a week.
Treatment: No vaccine or medicine exists. Those infected with Zika should get rest, drink fluids, take medicine such as acetaminophen or paracetamol to reduce pain, and avoid mosquito bites for the first week of the illness.
Risks to fetuses: Microcephaly, poorly developed or absent brain structures, impaired growth, hearing deficits, and eye defects
Immunity: A person who has had the Zika virus is likely to be protected from contracting it again.
For more information, visit
www.cdc.gov/zika.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76