Real Time’s DiseaseWatch to Inform COVID-19 Modeling for the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)

By AIT News Desk On May 21, 2020

Real Time Medical Systems (Real Time), the industry-leading Interventional Analytics solution in healthcare, announces that it is now providing a key input to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington through the launch of its new division, DiseaseWatch. This new division will provide live, de-identified data on leading indicators of infectious disease within nursing facilities in the United States to IHME’s COVID-19 modeling to inform the model’s projections, trajectories, and related analysis.

Effective May 8, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) required nursing facilities nationwide to report weekly COVID-19 outbreak data directly to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Prior to the CMS interim final rule that included this requirement, facility data was being reported on an ad hoc and voluntary basis to state and local health agencies and, therefore, was not previously accessible in IHME COVID-19 modeling.

IHME will receive access to the unmatched datasets provided through DiseaseWatch, which captures real-time, de-identified clinical data on leading indicators of COVID-19 from nursing facilities nationwide. The DiseaseWatch datasets being used by IHME contain no identifiable facility or patient information. Leading indicators that can be tracked and connected to derive meaningful analysis include: Temperate (Fever), Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate, Blood Pressure, Cough, etc.

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“The COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. started very close to home for us at IHME in Seattle because it was first detected in a nearby nursing facility,” said IHME Associate Professor Abraham Flaxman. “Real Time’s data sets provide a critical input to help us better predict the impact of COVID-19 in these facilities and in the general population as well.”

IHME will overlay the DiseaseWatch data with the nursing facility COVID-19 data made available through CMS’s new standard reporting requirement. The strategic combination of these datasets will allow IHME to continue to refine its model and derive valuable insights and understanding of how COVID-19 is impacting the uniquely vulnerable nursing facility population as we continue to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic.

“Nursing facilities nationwide have tirelessly combatted the spread of COVID-19, with very limited assistance,” said Dr. Scott Rifkin, Executive Chairman with Real Time Medical Systems. “As a physician, nursing facility operator, and patient advocate, the goal is to ensure facilities are informed with accurate accounting of the impact COVID-19 is having on their patient population. As a result, public health efforts can better anticipate potential outbreaks to provide the necessary resources to protect patients and nurses.”