Technical Updates

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Updated May 23, 2023

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Patching Schedule

  • May 16: NSSP vendor patches (Testing and Development) 12:00–8:00 AM ET (Completed)
  • May 18: NSSP vendor patches (Onboarding and Production) 12:00–8:00 AM ET (Completed)
  • June 20: NSSP vendor patches (Testing and Development) 12:00–8:00 AM ET
  • June 22: NSSP vendor patches (Onboarding and Production) 12:00–8:00 AM ET

Onboarding

On April 14, 2023, the Data Quality Subcommittee invited the NSSP onboarding team to present on several topics that affect data quality. Senior Data Analyst Sophia Crossen (CDC NSSP) led the discussion by explaining how messages are collapsed into visits in ESSENCE. Crossen and the onboarding team demonstrated how to locate the NSSP Data Dictionary on the NSSP website and explained how the dictionary can be used to see how the C_Biosense_ID is created and to better understand how ESSENCE creates visits.

The onboarding team plans to develop a description of this process, as requested by the community during the call, which will be developed into an article and added to the NSSP Data Dictionary soon.

If you have questions about the NSSP Data Dictionary or how messages are collapsed into visits, please email the NSSP mailbox (nssp@cdc.gov) or create an NSSP Service Desk ticket. If you’re interested in learning about other topics related to onboarding and data quality, please reach out to the onboarding team via the mailbox or Service Desk.

Mortality Data

Onboarding of mortality data can be fast. To add the mortality data source, please contact nssp@cdc.gov. Commonly asked questions about mortality data are posted on the NSSP website. An NSSP article describes the routing of mortality data. There’s also a slack channel: #Mortality-data.

Surveillance and Analyses

Reports using near real-time emergency department (ED) and laboratory data are being provided to CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) in response to an increase in invasive Group A Streptococcal (GAS) disease:

  • NSSP is collaborating with NCIRD, Division of Bacterial Diseases, on monitoring the increase in invasive GAS disease.
  • NSSP analysts Kelly Carey and Stephanie Dietz are sending real-time trends to NCIRD on the percent of throat cultures from NSSP’s commercial laboratory data that are positive for Streptococcus pyogenes, alongside data on volumes of emergency department visits with diagnoses of invasive GAS, rheumatic fever, scarlet fever, and streptococcal pharyngitis.

New FAQ Explains How ESSENCE Handles Invalid Patient ZIP Codes

Several readers recently contacted the NSSP Service Desk to ask how ESSENCE handles invalid ZIP Codes. The question has broad applicability and has been added to the NSSP FAQ web page:

Q  What does ESSENCE do when a patient ZIP Code is invalid?

A  In ESSENCE, ZIP Codes are used for Patient Location (Region). ESSENCE “Regions” are aggregations of data from the ZIP Codes with centroids within the county or territory border.

The Patient_Zip starts as a direct input from the HL7 message. The first 5 digits of the Patient_Zip are sent to the ZipCode field.

When invalid, blank, or null values are sent, the Patient Region is categorized as OTHER_REGION. This category is selectable by going to the ESSENCE Query Portal, under the Patient Region, and then selecting the Patient Location (Full Details) data source. Any patient with an invalid ZIP Code is grouped under OTHER_REGION by Patient HHS Region and by Patient State, and is grouped as OTHER under the Patient Zipcode List.

A patient with an invalid ZIP Code will NOT be grouped under strata for Patient Core-based Statistical Area, Metropolitan Statistical Area, or Patient County Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) approximation. If you attempt to stratify or query by these strata, the results will exclude visits and show blank, null, and invalid ZIP Codes.

We appreciate your questions. NSSP’s FAQ web page includes FAQs about Data Quality Dashboard and Reporting, Drive Space Allocation, Master Facility Table, Mortality Data, and Onboarding. Check it out!

Correction to CDC Opioid v2 Syntax

Community members submitted NSSP Service Desk tickets to notify NSSP and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) that the Knowledge Repository (KR) entry for CDC Opioid v2 did not match the syntax for the NSSP ESSENCE Chief Complaint Discharge Diagnosis (CCDD) Category by the same name. After some brief checks, NSSP confirmed that the CDC Opioid Overdose v2 CCDD Category ran accurately but that the syntax in the KR was incorrect. The problem has been corrected, and content for this KR listing is now accurate. The ESSENCE syntax for CDC Opioid Overdose v1 was used instead of the CDC Opioid Overdose v2 when filling out the KR page.

We appreciate receiving service tickets that correct or improve the quality of materials posted on the KR.

Publication Updates