Roping the Power of Big Data.

• Author: Hiltz, Allison
• Position: TRENDS - States and their chief data officers

If you search "big data" on the web, you'll see site after site offering explanations and definitions of what it is, how to use it and why it's so popular.

That's because big data is both a buzzword and a way to inform decisions, in both the private and the public sectors. All 50 states and the District of Columbia use administrative data to inform some fiscal decision-making, while 23 states and the District of Columbia have at least one agency with a formal data strategy. And, since 2010, 18 states have hired chief data officers to oversee their data operations.

Administrative data--birth records, vehicle registrations and other information agencies collect during routine, day-to-day operations--have been a boon, with states harnessing the facts, figures and statistics at their fingertips to address issues ranging from infant mortality to the high cost of treating Medicaid "super-utilizers"--the 5 percent of hospital patients who account for more than half of total health care costs. The many potential uses and challenges of big data are highlighted in the new report "How States Use Data to Inform Decisions," from The Pew Charitable Trusts.

In response to an increase in opioid-related deaths, for example, the Massachusetts legislature directed five agencies to collect data on inmate incarceration and medical claims dates. They found, among other things, that people recently released from prison were 56 times more likely to die of an overdose than the public. They have since passed the STEP Act (short for An Act Relative to Substance Use. Treatment, Education and Prevention), a sweeping law that, among other things, created tools to track opioid prescriptions and required that substance abuse evaluations be offered to anyone treated for an opioid overdose.

New Mexico's Department of Workforce Solutions sought to reduce overpayments on unemployment insurance. Working with Deloitte Consulting LLP, the department added pop-up messages to its online application system to encourage honesty. Called behavioral "nudges," the messages let applicants know when, for example, their responses differed from those of other county residents. The system helped avoid millions of dollars in improper payments.

Challenges remain. Pew's research revealed that leaders in 42 states and the District of Columbia mistrust the integrity of at least some of...