ABSTRACT
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Adapting the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care Data Viewer to Different Databases and Geographies (two papers)
Track:  Health Care
Author:   James F. Poage
Laura Feaster
Attached are abstracts for two companion papers. Part 1 will be presented by Laura Feaster of Esri. Part 2 will be presented by J.F. Poage. Part 1 The Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care is a publication of the Dartmouth Medical School. The atlas displays maps, charts, and tables that allow, through statistical adjustments, comparisons of health care delivery across the nation. Information presented in the atlas represents only a small fraction of the database. The Dartmouth Atlas Data Viewer is an application that permits users to perform their own analyses on the full database containing many additional variables. The table-driven architecture of the Viewer will be described briefly. Complex index tables, prepared largely by hand, make future enhancements difficult. Part 2 Included with the original Dartmouth Atlas Data Viewer are Medicare and physician data for 1992 through 1995. Added in the 1999 database was 1996 Medicare data with more and new variables. Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Hospital Association contracted for an atlas using the Pennsylvania UHDDS data and slightly modified geographies. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons is preparing an atlas using still other data. Software to automate the preparation of index tables has been developed except for the obviously human task of assigning intelligible names to variables. This presentation describes the process for introducing new data and geographies into the Viewer.

James F. Poage
Dartmouth Medical School
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