Arkansas Department of Health ditches weekly flu report for online automated dashboard

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Weekly flu reports from the Arkansas Department of Health are no more as it has opted for an online dashboard to display its data this flu season.

The weekly reports contained data regarding deaths and hospitalizations, and featured charts and infographics with county breakdowns. They also included statistics such as the percentage of Arkansans who died from the flu who were unvaccinated.

The ADH’s new “Influenza-Like Illness Health Data Dashboard” has information on symptoms and vaccines, along with biweekly death and hospitalization totals, and some interactive county-level and demographic breakdowns.

However, some specific details in the database are limited. The ADH says certain statistics such as reported hospitalization and death numbers under 10 are suppressed to protect patient confidentiality.

A spokesperson with ADH told KNWA/FOX24 on Monday that the transition from the weekly reports to the database was to improve both efficiency and user experience.

“Unlike manual reports, the dashboard can be updated through automated data processes, significantly reducing staff time,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “The dashboard also provides an interactive interface that will allow users to hover over individual counties on the state map to view case counts and other relevant metrics.”

The spokesperson also noted that many of the department’s programs are transitioning to dashboard-based reporting, “which presents the burden of diseases and conditions in a consistent and accessible format.”

“This approach creates a single, centralized location on our website where users can explore information on multiple conditions, improving transparency and ease of access for the public,” the spokesperson said.

The ADH includes a pop-up on the database with an all-caps disclaimer that says the following: “THIS DASHBOARD IS A WORK IN PROGRESS.”

As of Monday, the site said there were 20 Arkansans in a combined 15 counties who were hospitalized with influenza-like illnesses. No flu deaths have been reported.