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TriCore Reference Laboratories Unveils Its Updated New Mexico Infectious Disease Dashboards

Analytics provide insight into thirteen of the most common respiratory infections in the state

Albuquerque, New Mexico – April 6, 2021 - TriCore Reference Laboratories unveils new interactive Infectious Disease Dashboards on tricore.org, built in partnership with Rhodes Group. click here to view the reports

TriCore’s new Infectious Disease Dashboards leverage TriCore’s strong regional footprint of longitudinal laboratory data and Rhodes Groups’ powerful analytics engine to provide clarity for New Mexico’s healthcare providers and public about realtime infectious disease trends in our region.

“Since COVID-19, the dynamics of viruses have been changing within different communities. Our new Infectious Disease Dashboards illustrate the number and distribution of respiratory infections we have detected in our laboratory. Although not inclusive of all testing performed in the state, we can provide a snapshot based on the large number of tests we perform to generate actionable population-level information. Building on the foundation set by Dr. Stephen Young, who provided infectious disease reports to local providers for many years, these new dashboards employ the analytic advances of Rhodes Group to generate enhanced views with data by age, county and virus type. Healthcare providers can see if influenza cases are on the rise in their region, or if only the common cold is circulating. Such information can be used to determine the type of testing they may order and make decisions about how they will manage their patients,” says Dr. Karissa Culbreath, Medical Director of Infectious Disease at TriCore.

There are three dashboards: the first shows a week-at-a-glance of 13 of the most common respiratory infections and the current week’s positive count for each of those tests performed at TriCore. The user is able to quickly see the viruses that are circulating in the state.

The second dashboard is a deeper dive into respiratory infection trends that allows an individual to focus on a population of interest. The infection trends report is customizable, allowing the user to select infection by age group, year, respiratory infections over time and flu subtype distribution.

The third dashboard, also interactive and customizable, is a heat map display of respiratory infection trends by New Mexico county and by week of recorded infection.

Users may subscribe to a weekly infectious disease report that is emailed directly to support realtime decision-making.

Lisa Jimenez, MD, of After Hours Pediatrics, is a regular user of these tools. She comments, “The weekly TriCore Infectious Disease report is an invaluable tool in guiding pediatricians in tailoring our evaluation and management of our patients. The new format is even more user friendly and we are so pleased that it now includes COVID 19 reports. Additionally, it helps guide After Hours Pediatrics in scheduling provider hours. When the viral counts start increasing in the Fall, we allow for more sick visit appointments in our schedule to accommodate the viral burden. Conversely, in the Spring as our viral numbers decrease, we change our scheduling to allow for more Well Child Checks. Pediatricians in NM rely on these weekly reports, and we are thankful that TriCore continues to provide these reports to community providers.”

Both the Infectious Disease Dashboards and the weekly report sign-up can be accessed on tricore.org: www.tricore.org/infectious_disease_reports

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About TriCore TriCore Reference Laboratories is an independent, not-for-profit, clinical reference laboratory founded and headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, co-sponsored by Presbyterian Healthcare Services and University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. TriCore provides over 2,900, full-service, state-of-the-art laboratory tests to healthcare professionals and their patients. TriCore also provides analytics and research services, supporting healthcare and scientific organizations worldwide. TriCore’s Rhodes Group offers laboratory software and consulting services to optimize clinical laboratory operations, including empowering population health management and targeted intervention strategies. For more information, visit tricore.org and rhodesgroup.com.http://www.tricore.org/infectious_disease_reports