Freshness
How to tell how current a dataset is, and what lag to expect from each source.
The freshness indicator
Every registry table shows Last updated in its footer. That timestamp is when Qope last ingested that dataset, not when the publisher last changed it.
On Home, the pinned and recent card shows the oldest last-updated timestamp across all datasets, so you can see at a glance whether anything has fallen behind.
Ingestion lag versus publication lag
Two different delays stack:
- Publication lag -- how long the agency takes to publish. This is by far the larger of the two. Medicare provider files describe a calendar year and appear roughly a year and a half later.
- Ingestion lag -- how long Qope takes to pick up a published change. Usually hours to days.
The freshness indicator only shows the second. For the first, see the cadence table in Sources.
What "current" means per dataset
| Dataset family | What the newest row actually describes |
|---|---|
| NPPES providers | The registry as of the last ingest -- effectively current |
| FDA shortages | A live snapshot of the list right now. Resolved shortages drop off |
| FDA recalls | Enforcement reports as filed, with report and termination dates |
| Orange Book, Purple Book | The current published edition |
| NDC Directory | Currently listed products, with marketing start and end dates |
| NADAC | The most recent weekly pricing file |
| Medicaid rebate drugs | The latest quarterly snapshot |
| Medicare Part D and Part B provider files | A completed calendar year, typically 12 to 24 months behind today |
| ACO performance | A completed performance year |
| HRSA HPSA, MUA, health centers | The current designation and scope files |
| CHPL and EHR linkage | The current certification and attestation records |
Snapshot datasets have no history
The FDA shortage list is the clearest example. It is a live snapshot, not an archive. That has three consequences:
- Resolved shortages leave the list, so counts of past shortages cannot be reconstructed from it.
- Median shortage duration is computed over open shortages only, because too few resolved rows remain to be representative.
- The "last revised" distribution always skews to recent months, since each record is counted once at its latest revision.