Donna Spiegelman joined her colleagues for the “Statistical Analysis of Large Administrative Health Databases: Emerging Challenges and Strategies” workshop from Feb. 17- Feb. 22, 2019. Hosted by Banff International Research Station for mathematical Innovation and Discovery (BIRS), the workshop focused on data collected in administrative systems, and how it can be helpful with questions ranging from safety of medications to health service effectiveness. Participants discussed the limitations of administrative data analysis, determined areas that needed more research, and organized new collaborations on these topics. BIRS is a collaborative Canada-US-Mexico venture that hosts up to 48 weekly workshops each year in order to provide “an environment for creative interaction as well as the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and methods within the Mathematical Sciences.” BIRS was launched in March 2003 at The Banff Center in Alberta, is supported by Canada's Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Alberta's Advanced Education and Technology, and Mexico's Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT).
For more information about BIRS, http://www.birs.ca/