CDC and OTC meds
I'm taking a stats software class this week (Minitab). Besides the shear excitement of the non-stop torrent of statistics for hours on end, there's the interesting stories the instructor shares with us. One of the best of these stories (thus far) I've decide to share.
Seems the instructor has an uncle that is a PhD Biostatistician for the CDC (Center for Disease Control, in Atlanta, GA). [And we thing we have a geek family!]
One thing the CDC does is watchdog the overall health of the nation. Any significant trend in large numbers of people, in one relative area, of people getting sick, at the same relative time, is suspicious. For many years (yes, even before 9/11) the challenge has been how to identify if such a trend is occurring.
The old way was to query hospitals for sickness trends. Unfortunately that is a delayed response. People don’t go to the doctor when they first get sick; let alone a hospital.
The first thing sick people actually do is self medicate; they go out and buy OTC meds (over the counter) from Wal-mart, CVS, local supermarkets, etc.
The CDC now has access to the daily sales of OTC meds, for an enormous number of OTC med outlets throughout the country. Needless to say, crunching the data to identify localized trends is a daunting statistical /computing undertaking (a bit beyond your typical Pentium IV processor capability).
If the CDC detects a trend, they contact key local area health officials, and if they can’t explain it (“yea, lots of the flu going around”), the CDC potentially has picked up on a significant event (i.e. bioterrorism, pandemic, etc.). If required the CDC can actually call out the National Guard, of any state, to seal off any area they deem necessary for containment purposes - - without presidential approval.
And I bet you thought statistics was boring.
Seems the instructor has an uncle that is a PhD Biostatistician for the CDC (Center for Disease Control, in Atlanta, GA). [And we thing we have a geek family!]
One thing the CDC does is watchdog the overall health of the nation. Any significant trend in large numbers of people, in one relative area, of people getting sick, at the same relative time, is suspicious. For many years (yes, even before 9/11) the challenge has been how to identify if such a trend is occurring.
The old way was to query hospitals for sickness trends. Unfortunately that is a delayed response. People don’t go to the doctor when they first get sick; let alone a hospital.
The first thing sick people actually do is self medicate; they go out and buy OTC meds (over the counter) from Wal-mart, CVS, local supermarkets, etc.
The CDC now has access to the daily sales of OTC meds, for an enormous number of OTC med outlets throughout the country. Needless to say, crunching the data to identify localized trends is a daunting statistical /computing undertaking (a bit beyond your typical Pentium IV processor capability).
If the CDC detects a trend, they contact key local area health officials, and if they can’t explain it (“yea, lots of the flu going around”), the CDC potentially has picked up on a significant event (i.e. bioterrorism, pandemic, etc.). If required the CDC can actually call out the National Guard, of any state, to seal off any area they deem necessary for containment purposes - - without presidential approval.
And I bet you thought statistics was boring.
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