Public Health Data Standards Consortium

Connecting Communities for Better Health PHDSC / eHealth Initiative Annual Conference Role of Population/Public Health In Regional Health Information Exchanges - Critical Infrastructure to Advance Population Health - Track 6 Population Health Marty LaVenture, PhD MPH Director, Public Health Informatics Commissioners Office Minnesota Department of Health May 25, 2005 Washington DC

Assumptions / Considerations u Public health/Population well established Informatics is a young and emerging sub-specialty u Public /population health fits into all four (4) goals of the “framework for strategic action” u Organizational context is important to role: Governmental (federal, state, local) Academic, research and teaching Health systems Consumer u Opportunities for action now

Public Health Mission u Institute of Medicine – “what we, as a society, do collectively to assure the conditions in which people may be healthy.” u Public health must be a partner to fulfill its mission Mandated to protect and improve the health of all people within a legal jurisdiction Public health informs, coordinates care and resources, and regulates Effective public health requires an understanding of the interdependent nature of its functions with those of the health care system Adapted from: David Ross, Sc.D., Public Health Informatics Institute

What Public Health/Population Health Offers To NHIN/RHIO’s? A.Knowledge and experience in: u Complex health data systems and integration e.g surveillance, environmental health, preparedness systems Particular information systems e.g immunization data into EHR’s, birth, lab, u Data Acquisition and quality methods: Matching records and de-duplication Data standards, PHIN u Information management e.g Confidentiality, security, state laws, data sharing policies u Shared governance models and collaboration activities e.g Understanding provider enrollment and engagement e.g Neutral “objective” partner u Analytical methods and epidemiology Adapted from: David Ross, Sc.D., Public Health Informatics Institute

What Public Health/Population Health Offers To NHIN/RHIO’s? (continued) B. Client information and direct services Immunization registry data and decision support Laboratory analysis, results reporting and population-based analysis and recommendations Care coordination for children with special healthcare needs C. Provide epidemiologic information to improve diagnostic accuracy and treatment decisions Outbreak alerts Patterns of drug-resistant organisms within a community Trends that spark community collaboration on new health initiatives Adapted from: David Ross, Sc.D., Public Health Informatics Institute

What Public Health/Population Health Offers To NHIN/RHIO’s? (continued) D. Convenient access to guidelines and recommendations Infection control practices, Screening recommendations, etc. E. Point of service tools for diagnosis/patient education Guidelines embedded in EHR’s sensitive to local prevalence and service information Screening reminders for local at risk groups Information for patients in need of supportive social or other services – e.g., children with special needs F. Automated tools for quality improvement Immunization audits of office practices Newborn screening follow-up (e.g., sickle cell) and care coordination Adapted from: David Ross, Sc.D., Public Health Informatics Institute

What NHIN/RHIO’s Can Offer To Public Health/Population Health? u Increase quality (accuracy, timeliness, completeness) of information e.g disease reporting/applied research u Broaden opportunities for participation in health /disease surveillance / prevention activities u Improved case management and care coordination Communicable disease patient management (e.g., TB), & Newborn screening follow-up u Uniform way to share data with broader set of users: push the standards u Promote connectivity e.g Provide single method to share data for all users u Resources & cost sharing u Support new partnerships

Challenges / Opportunities for public health u Providing Leadership Balance regulatory roles with community partnership Public health role in governance u Financing participation Finding sustainable commitment u “Business-like” data exchange partnership Linking systems with reliable performance Providing public health data quality and availability Adapted from: David Ross, Sc.D., Public Health Informatics Institute

Challenges / Opportunities for public health (continued) u Update information system infrastructure Definition of public health business processes Base level of nationally adopted information system requirements Address Particular needs: State / County / City / Research u Continuous participation in national standards setting bodies Collaboration to bring clear, defensible positions that argue for specific standards on behalf of the public health enterprise Adapted from: David Ross, Sc.D., Public Health Informatics Institute

Minnesota e-Health Initial Focus Interoperability and Health Information Exchange MN Public Health Information Network (MN-PHIN) – improving State-Local effectiveness & efficiency

Thank You Questions? Marty LaVenture