Assignment task: Please read the two articles included here about the change in the U.S. surveillance system for hospital care of Covid-19 infected individuals. Then please consider the following questions:
1. What benefits is this surveillance system supposed to produce?
2. Why is data transparency considered to be so important?
3. Does a shift from data collection from the CDC to a contractor working for the Department of Health and Human Services, along with an increase in the amount of data collected and an imposition of fines on hospitals for not participating change the cost/benefit ratio of this surveillance system by:
- Increasing or decreasing the potential benefits of the surveillance system?
- Increasing or decreasing the costs of collecting the data?
4. Does the shift from voluntary to mandatory hospital participation change the cost/benefit ratio of this surveillance system?