After seeing a rise in Valley Fever cases over the years, the University of Arizona Valley Fever Center for Excellence launched a dashboard in February of 2024 to bring awareness to the disease and help doctors and patients monitor when Valley Fever cases are peaking.
After a year of collecting data, the center says it has encouraged doctors to not only test more frequently for Valley Fever, but it’s also helping patients get diagnosed sooner.
Dr. John Galgiani, director of the Valley Fever Center for Excellence, says about 14% of pneumonia cases are caused by Valley Fever. However, thanks to the dashboard, which gathers information on Valley Fever cases from 55 Banner Urgent Cares in Phoenix and Tucson, they now know that number can be as high as 44%.
The center has used this data to encourage clinicians to test pneumonia patients for Valley Fever by reminding them monthly by e-mail or through their electronic medical record…