America's coronavirus response is still relying on fax machines
America's outdated systems of storing and transferring health data have never been more obvious — or dangerous.
The U.S. finally has made great strides in increasing the testing capacity it needs to track how COVID-19 is spreading across the country and move toward stopping its stampede. There's just one big problem: That data is often sent via fax machines and phone calls, and is often sent to the wrong places, meaning "the data is moving slower than the disease," the executive director of Houston's Harris County health department Dr. Umair Shah tells The New York Times.
The fax machine is almost as formidable an enemy as COVID-19 at the Harris County Public Health office. The department collects results of coronavirus tests in the area and uses them to contact trace and potentially quarantine people, preferably through a simple data transfer on the computer. But others come via "phone, email, physical mail, or fax," as it's expensive to upgrade data storage systems while still preserving health privacy standards.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That in turn forces workers to physically input a variety of data into the department's database, increasing the chances of mistakes and slowing the COVID-19 tracking process down dramatically. And when a doctor's office sends a mass of results at once, "picture the image of hundreds of faxes coming through, and the machine just shooting out paper," Shah described.
Houston isn't alone in its data dilemma — Washington state even brought in the National Guard to deal with its piles of paper test results earlier in the pandemic. Read more at The New York Times.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billion
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on record
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homes
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creature
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published