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Pittsburgh Company Taking Over Coronavirus Data Collection From CDC

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Hospital data related to the coronavirus pandemic will no longer go to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.

Instead, it will be collected by TeleTracking Technologies, a private technology firm based in Pittsburgh.

Throughout the pandemic, the CDC has collected information from hospitals on the number of ICU beds and personal protective equipment available.

Now the federal government is directing that information from hospitals go to a platform created by TeleTracking. The CDC says it is stepping aside in order to streamline reporting of COVID-19 data from hospitals.

teletracking
(Photo Credit: KDKA)

teletracking
(Photo Credit: KDKA)

(Photo Credit: KDKA)[/caption

In April, the federal government awarded a $10 million contract to TeleTracking to gather data on information already being reported to the CDC, according to The Associated Press. Some health experts expressed concern about data being handed over to a commercial entity.

However, in a statement found on the Department of Health and Human Services' website, the government agency says TeleTracking provides "rapid ways to update the type of data we are collecting."

The CDC will continue to collect other data, like information about cases and deaths from state health departments.

An HHS spokesman said the CDC has been seeing a lag of a week or more in data coming from hospitals and 85 percent of hospitals have been participating. The change is meant to result in faster and more complete reporting.

The CEO of Teletracking also runs a real estate investment firm with several properties in Pittsburgh. KDKA was unable to reach anyone from TeleTracking for comment on Thursday.

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