PANEL ON PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATICS

NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTITIONERS

Moderated by Susan M Salkowitz, MA, MGAPrincipal, Health Information Systems Consultant

Salkowitz Associates, LLC salkowit@mac.com

Adjunct Senior Fellow, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania

Mid-Atlantic Health Care Informatics Symposium

April 25, 2014

Disclosures for Panel- NONE• Moderator, Susan M. Salkowitz discloses that she has no

relationships with commercial interests.• Panelist Dr. Caroline C Johnson discloses that she has no

relationships with commercial interests.• Panelist, Lisa McKeown discloses that she has no

relationships with commercial interests• Panelist Dr. Giridhar Mallya discloses that he has no

relationships with commercial interests• Panelist Dr. Paulina Sockolow discloses that she has no

relationships with commercial interests

What is Public Health Practice?Core public health functions require stewardship for data collection, management, analysis, and dissemination across multiple stakeholders, and extensive communication to official agencies, healthcare providers and facilities, health plans, individuals and the public at large to document, measure, inform, educate, promote, mobilize, assure, and enforce.

What is Public Health Informatics?

• The systematic application of information and computer science and technology to public health practice, research and learning, including surveillance, reporting and health promotion

• Little known discipline before IOM report and AMIA PHI meeting-2000

• Not in the vocabulary of public health practitioners • Limited capacity to use information technology hampered

by• Low state of available technology- main frame and legacy systems• Inadequate funding, staff resources and institutional support• Public health not on the public’s radar

Drivers for Expansion of Public Health Informatics

• Bioterrorism and Preparedness funding post 9/11- enhanced surveillance, laboratory reporting, syndromic surveillance if tied to emergency preparedness

• 2004- Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT-policies, standards and direction for interoperable HIT

• ARRA HITECH funding- technical infrastructure, electronic health records, Meaningful Use

• Affordable Care Act – population health/public health, prevention-

• New focus on health vs. healthcare- Social determinants, health behaviors, environment

All driving towards a Learning Health System

How Public Health Informatics helps practitioners in the Philadelphia Health Department and in Research

• Communicable Disease Surveillance- a core public health function: Caroline Johnson, MD

• Philadelphia Kids Plus IIS: Integration of public health, prevention and medical care: Lisa McKeown, MPH

• Population Health- Get Healthy Philly: Tobacco and Obesity Surveillance, Research and Evaluation: Giridhar Mallya, MD, MSHP

• Participatory Design of mHealth Intervention for Youth Susceptible to Risky Sexual Decision Making: Paulina S. Sockolow, DrPH, MS, MBA