CARY – Getting a head start before the next pandemic, SAS has won a contract from the state of Texas to develop a series of public health dashboards for use in tracking influenza.
Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but this could represent a growth opportunity for SAS. A SAS spokesperson says Texas is the first state to sign such a contract.
The goal is to create a central visualization platform, as SAS describes it, to track future outbreaks and help create predictive models.
SAS will utilize its Viya platform which utilizes artificial intelligence, machine learning, analytics and data management.
“SAS Viya is a perfect match for public health departments like Texas DSHS that are invested in making data work harder and smarter for government officials and the public,” said Dr. Meghan Schaeffer, National Public Health Advisor and Epidemiologist at SAS. “With a better view of where flu is, and where it’s likely going, Texas health officials can focus on their most important work: keeping Texans healthy.”
Says says “the flu data visualizations and analytics will be instrumental for Texas DSHS in anticipating regions in cases and allocating state resources to the areas with the most testing and vaccination needs while keeping the public informed on their local outbreak risk. With a more accurate and detailed picture of the influenza risk county-by-county, drawn from updated weekly data, Texas DSHS can initiate preventative measures that can mitigate the severity of outbreaks and save more lives across the state.”
