Clinical Instructor Susan C. Westgate presented a lecture entitled, “Refuting the Numbers: Leading in the Era of Big Data” at the Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care’s Annual Conference, Rising Together as Social Work Leaders in Health Care. The goal of this presentation was to educate and explore with attendees the following:
• How the proliferation of big data increasingly directs healthcare policy, influences revenue and reimbursement, and guides healthcare practice • How aggregate data can and often does obscure critical intersections between poverty and clinical outcomes • The roles that social workers should play in challenging the numbers through leveraging professional specialization and expertise