Data Visualizations for a Healthier NY

Summary

Project started on May 23, 2016 (Completed)

Data Visualization

NYS DOH logo

The goal of our project was to create data visualizations (interactive graphs, maps, and charts) to help consumers understand the multiple types of publicly-available health data on the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) website.

We focused on four main components:

  1. Refining, expanding, and finalizing the publication of visualizations previously prototyped to develop a fully functional online tool
  2. Developing new visualizations from additional data sets
  3. Creating coding that would be reusable to allow NYSDOH to modify and build on existing visualizations
  4. Assessment of any potential efficiencies or cost saving

For some perspective, when the partnership began in 2015, we focused primarily on data to help consumers evaluate services of New York State's managed care plans. As work progressed, the team expanded the scope to include new datasets, such as statistics about birth and death records.

Each phase of the project employed student teams in CTG UAlbany's Student Technology Innovations Lab Experience program. 

University at Albany Research Report Visualizing Our Paths to Health.

Scope of Work

Determining the Feasibility

2015 Interns

In 2015, CTG UAlbany funded a summer lab of five students under the direction of Derek Werthmuller and Jim Costello to work with the NYSDOH Office of Quality and Patient Safety and Public Affairs Group.

The students tested the feasibility of connecting data from the Health Data NY open data site to NYSDOH's regular public website.

The specific goals were:

  • test how NYSDOH could connect dynamically to the Health Data NY site
  • demonstrate the recreation of the existing Quality Assurance Reporting Requirements (eQARR) online tool more efficiently
  • demonstrate how the existing concept of eQARR can improve by prototyping different types of visualizations
  • analyze the ongoing costs and reusability of this approach with other data sets

 

Expanding the Prototype

2016 interns

In 2016, a new group of interns joined the CTG UAlbany Student Technology Innovations Lab Experience (STILE) program to expand on the work. The new team improved and built on the visualizations to show what could be done with publicly available data. They presented their work to officials from NYSDOH.

Press Releases & News Stories

Publications & Results

Related Websites

Funding Sources

The project was supported by Funding opportunity Number PR-PRP-13-001 from the US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medical Services.

The content of this project is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of HHS, HHS agencies, HRI or the Project Sponsor.