A Closer Look: The N.C. Government Data Analytics Center September 12, 2019 Author: Kelly Gardner, NC DIT Communications As North Carolina emergency officials spent last week pleading with coastal residents to flee from the potential dangers of Hurricane Dorian, a team with the N.C. Government Data Analytics Center (GDAC) worked behind the scenes to make sure vital medical information would be available electronically across state lines for those displaced by the storm. By linking North Carolina’s health information exchange – a network known as NC HealthConnex – with similar exchanges in Georgia, South Carolina and the Veterans Administration, authorized health care providers could securely access patients’ comprehensive medical histories, including treatment summaries, medication lists, lab results and diagnoses. “Establishing this connectivity to neighboring health information exchanges is especially important for those who are most vulnerable and chronically ill,” says Christie Burris, executive director of the N.C. Health Information Exchange Authority (HIEA), which oversees and administers NC HealthConnex. The result: better-informed care – based on complete medical histories – to treat those unable to see their regular providers back home. The case is one of many ways that N.C. Department of Information Technology employees are serving the residents of North Carolina and helping make positive impacts on their lives. The GDAC, which came under NC DIT in 2014 from the Office of State Controller, is made up of about 50 people working at any given time on approximately 30-40 projects and programs involving criminal justice, child safety, fraud and compliance, health care and other areas. Everything GDAC does helps inform or facilitate data-driven decisions – whether it is using data to formulate policy for state leaders, a police officer with just a moment to make a crucial decision during a routine traffic stop, using data to protect children or to identify fraud. “The work we do is about leveraging and integrating the state’s data assets to solve problems and provide the best services possible for the public,” says John Correllus, the state’s chief data officer and director of GDAC. “Our staff spends a significant amount of time learning the objectives and business of the agencies before integrating and analyzing the data.” In the area of criminal justice, for example, a GDAC team working with the State Bureau of Investigation recently examined 50 years of law enforcement records across the state and identified 145,777 individuals – approximately the population of Wilmington – who were never entered into a national registry for criminal background checks on gun sales. Work was completed in December to add the names, and so far, it has resulted in nearly 80 of those identified being denied gun permits. “The work we do is also about making sure North Carolina is following the law,” says Carol Burroughs, GDAC’S director of analytics. “I give kudos to my team for the work they did.” GDAC has also been instrumental in partnering with the criminal justice community to strengthen North Carolina’s justice system and protecting its people. The Criminal Justice Law Enforcement Automated Data Services, or CJLEADS, crime database came online 10 years ago after the shooting deaths of two students at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The cases exposed inadequacies and weaknesses in the aging criminal databases in use at the time and highlighted the need for a modern database. CJLEADS pulls offender information into a dashboard from data across state, local and, recently, federal applications. Today, with more than 25,000 users across the state, it is a major tool in the crimefighting arsenal of those in public safety. There are other projects, too. For example: Integrating data from CJLEADS to help social workers understand the possible risks to children and protect them from harm Partnering with agencies to reduce fraud and increase compliance Working with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Division of Mental Health to develop reports to better track prescriptions and ensure doctors are following the law when prescribing controlled substances “These are just some of projects we’re working on,” Burroughs says. “While the work we do isn’t always obvious or publicized, everything we do is to better serve the residents of North Carolina. It’s a team effort by dozens of highly devoted and passionate staff members.” Coming next month: Get a closer look at NC DIT’s role in emergency response during natural disasters, such as Hurricane Dorian.
A Closer Look: The N.C. Government Data Analytics Center September 12, 2019 Author: Kelly Gardner, NC DIT Communications As North Carolina emergency officials spent last week pleading with coastal residents to flee from the potential dangers of Hurricane Dorian, a team with the N.C. Government Data Analytics Center (GDAC) worked behind the scenes to make sure vital medical information would be available electronically across state lines for those displaced by the storm. By linking North Carolina’s health information exchange – a network known as NC HealthConnex – with similar exchanges in Georgia, South Carolina and the Veterans Administration, authorized health care providers could securely access patients’ comprehensive medical histories, including treatment summaries, medication lists, lab results and diagnoses. “Establishing this connectivity to neighboring health information exchanges is especially important for those who are most vulnerable and chronically ill,” says Christie Burris, executive director of the N.C. Health Information Exchange Authority (HIEA), which oversees and administers NC HealthConnex. The result: better-informed care – based on complete medical histories – to treat those unable to see their regular providers back home. The case is one of many ways that N.C. Department of Information Technology employees are serving the residents of North Carolina and helping make positive impacts on their lives. The GDAC, which came under NC DIT in 2014 from the Office of State Controller, is made up of about 50 people working at any given time on approximately 30-40 projects and programs involving criminal justice, child safety, fraud and compliance, health care and other areas. Everything GDAC does helps inform or facilitate data-driven decisions – whether it is using data to formulate policy for state leaders, a police officer with just a moment to make a crucial decision during a routine traffic stop, using data to protect children or to identify fraud. “The work we do is about leveraging and integrating the state’s data assets to solve problems and provide the best services possible for the public,” says John Correllus, the state’s chief data officer and director of GDAC. “Our staff spends a significant amount of time learning the objectives and business of the agencies before integrating and analyzing the data.” In the area of criminal justice, for example, a GDAC team working with the State Bureau of Investigation recently examined 50 years of law enforcement records across the state and identified 145,777 individuals – approximately the population of Wilmington – who were never entered into a national registry for criminal background checks on gun sales. Work was completed in December to add the names, and so far, it has resulted in nearly 80 of those identified being denied gun permits. “The work we do is also about making sure North Carolina is following the law,” says Carol Burroughs, GDAC’S director of analytics. “I give kudos to my team for the work they did.” GDAC has also been instrumental in partnering with the criminal justice community to strengthen North Carolina’s justice system and protecting its people. The Criminal Justice Law Enforcement Automated Data Services, or CJLEADS, crime database came online 10 years ago after the shooting deaths of two students at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The cases exposed inadequacies and weaknesses in the aging criminal databases in use at the time and highlighted the need for a modern database. CJLEADS pulls offender information into a dashboard from data across state, local and, recently, federal applications. Today, with more than 25,000 users across the state, it is a major tool in the crimefighting arsenal of those in public safety. There are other projects, too. For example: Integrating data from CJLEADS to help social workers understand the possible risks to children and protect them from harm Partnering with agencies to reduce fraud and increase compliance Working with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Division of Mental Health to develop reports to better track prescriptions and ensure doctors are following the law when prescribing controlled substances “These are just some of projects we’re working on,” Burroughs says. “While the work we do isn’t always obvious or publicized, everything we do is to better serve the residents of North Carolina. It’s a team effort by dozens of highly devoted and passionate staff members.” Coming next month: Get a closer look at NC DIT’s role in emergency response during natural disasters, such as Hurricane Dorian.
