Community-wide Information Systems Design: Concepts and an Illustration Patricia Flatley Brennan,RN PhD Natalie Norcross, MLS David Grindrod, MA Marti Sopher, PhD University of Wisconsin-Madison Support for this project was provided by the IADL Intiative, National Library of Medicine

Design strategies that facilitate institutional and enterprise information systems are insufficient for developing the information infrastructure needed to meet health and health care information management challenges of the 21 st century.

Options for Community-wide Information Systems Design  Outreach models  Single entity establishes connections to selected collaborators  UWHealth  Enterprise-wide model  Multi-entity alliances create interconnections  Caregroup  PeaceHealth  Regional Health Information Systems  Business-to-business interaction  Indianapolis  Community-wide Information Systems Planning

Challenges in the creation of local and national health information infrastructures: governance models Effective governance is needed to balance stakeholder claims and maximize available resources. Performance and economic models are needed to guide investment decisions and evaluation strategies.

Creating effective governance structures: Start with what is already there! An example: The Dodge Jefferson Healthier Communities Partnership

The Dodge-Jefferson Healthier Communities Partnership

The initiative: djhelp.info

Creating djhelp.info Confirmation of community need; Assessment of existing health and social service information providing and resource referral Technical Planning Business Planning and Sustainability

Lessons Learned 1. Community-wide information planning requires involvement of stakeholders 2. Assessing local needs and resources identifies opportunities for improving access to health information. 3. Brokering provides an efficient alternative to creation of entirely new initiatives. 4. Building community partnerships increases the capacity of the community

Remaining challenges  Insuring financial sustainability of the resource  Promotion its use to the community  Engaging new participants  Key--- creating a systematic way to appraise investment and impact