Using Data to Turn the Tide of the Opioid Crisis
We’ve all seen the statistics: Drug overdoses, most of which are related to opioids, killed over 64,000 people in the United States last year — an increase of 21% over 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The opioid crisis hit Indiana especially hard. In 2015, IV drug use in Indiana caused the nation’s worst HIV outbreak in 20 years, affecting rural Scott County. Let’s face it — the issue is complicated. There are challenges with both prescription and illicit drugs. Solutions must reduce the number of people who become addicts in the first place, as well as cure those who do. The underlying issue of pain management must be addressed. For all these reasons, the State of Indiana has recognized that understanding the data, and blending them with statistics from other agencies, is key to solving the complexities of the drug crisis in Indiana, and hopefully the nation. Issie Lapowsky described the state’s efforts to attack the problem in an enlightening articlethis fall in Wired magazine. Earlier this year, Indiana started an online opioid data center, where pharmacies, hospitals, mental health organizations, police departments and others can share data to help everyone see the big picture of what is really going on across the state. Working with the analytics-software provider SAP, the State of Indiana constructed a database that includes information on drug arrests, drug seizures, death records, pharmacy robberies, overdose-related ambulance calls, and the use of naloxone, an overdose-reversal drug. State officials also incorporated the data-visualization tools from Tableau, so agencies providing the data can log in and observe trends over time. This far-reaching data-sharing effort—including some 16 government agencies—is amazing in a country still struggling to keep up with the recent explosion of opioid abuse. The state’s efforts are beginning to pay off. To decide where to locate five new opioid treatment facilities, the team took a map of state’s existing treatment facilities and meshed it with a map of overdose cases and instances where paramedics administered naloxone. Then, they measured the distance from the areas with the most overdoses to the nearest treatment location to identify gaps where new facilities might be most helpful. They’ve also been able to monitor drug seizures real time, to monitor new drugs that are hitting the black market. This can help the state spot new drug outbreaks before they reach crisis levels. If you’d like to hear more about how big data is transforming public health and learn what’s next in the battle against the opioid scourge, check out the INconversation with Dr. Jennifer Walthall, Secretary of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration on Jan. 24 from 4-5:30 p.m. at Indiana Humanities, 1500 N. Delaware. Dr. Walthall is leading the charge to use data to target the areas of the state most in need of treatment programs. Kudos to the team for their efforts to foster collaboration and data sharing to help agencies collectively address the opioid issue real...
Read MoreSanta’s Secret: Lean Six Sigma
Have you ever wondered how Santa manages to deliver ALL those presents, to the right children who asked for them, at the right time, at the right house – every single Christmas? There’s only one plausible explanation. To accomplish this monumental task each year, Old Saint Nick MUST run a very Lean organization! In fact, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he uses Lean Six Sigma processes to eliminate waste in inventory management, transportation and materials, as he and his elves assemble millions of toys and flawlessly distribute them worldwide. This fun holiday blog by Six Sigma green belt @JaredMunk got me to thinking. Who has a more demanding and impatient customer base than Santa? And he has one chance to get it right. To get input from his customers, he collects data from parents and Santa’s helpers around the world. They help him understand who has been naughty or nice, as well as what special gift each child would love to have. Of course, there’s only one Santa….but he has a lot of look-alike assistants at the malls, doesn’t he? No double Santa uses data from NORAD’s Santa Tracker to improve the precision of his delivery logistics, as their scientific instruments map his delivery route across the sky. He probably employs just-in-time manufacturing techniques to keep down inventory and ensure that the hottest gifts – like this year’s Fingerlings – are available when needed. Spreading Christmas joy to children worldwide is a complex undertaking. Santa must use Design for Six Sigma to coordinate all the intricate processes so that everything works together smoothly. So if your son or daughter begins to doubt if Santa is really real and asks you this holiday season, “How does he do it?,” you can reply with a smile – “Six Sigma, my child.” Happy holidays to you all! How are you helping your employees to work smarter by reducing the amount of time they spend on non-productive activities and correcting errors? If your business processes need a “check-up,” please email me at michael@leadingchangeforgood.com! I’d love to help you get back to a healthy, productive workplace! How are you helping your employees to work smarter by reducing the amount of time they spend on non-productive activities and correcting errors? If your business processes need a “check-up,” please email me at michael@leadingchangeforgood.com! I’d love to help you get back to a healthy, productive...
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