Data Modernization in Public Health – What is it and Why Now?
Background
Public health departments continue to rely on sluggish, manual processes such as paper documentation and phone calls. Current systems are siloed, causing inefficient workflows while making data collection and associated decisions difficult. In addition, they lack the necessary security and analytics to ensure the safety of those they serve.
COVID-19 exposed these weaknesses in our nation’s current public health - particularly in the area of emergency preparedness. The silver lining is that the pandemic brought these issues into the spotlight, creating the push for change through initiatives such as:
The Data Modernization Initiative (DMI) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Senators proposing bipartisan legislation to bolster pandemic preparedness and response
The unleashing of a great deal of private and public funding for Public Health organizations to undergo these changes and improve their resiliency.
According to a survey from Ernst & Young LLP (EY US), more than 8 in 10 of the decision-makers surveyed said advances in data and data technology will make them more optimistic than they had ever been about what public health can achieve.
“After the disruption of COVID-19, public health will never be the same – but the future is still unclear. From the politicization of pandemic interventions to pre-existing operational challenges, today’s public health leaders face both extrinsic and intrinsic obstacles. These must be addressed today to adequately prepare for tomorrow’s anticipated and unexpected public health emergencies.”
- EY - 21 Jun 2022
What is DMI?
While public health has made great progress, there is still a long way to go. Community collaboration and connectedness are key when ensuring that public health infrastructure is in place for both infectious and/or non-infectious threats.
Change is needed—and the CDC is at the forefront of innovative, strategic initiatives. According to the CDC, the DMI is how our nation will move from siloed and brittle public health data systems to connected, resilient, adaptable, and sustainable ‘response-ready’ systems that can help us solve problems before they happen and reduce the harm caused when they do occur. The DMI is the core of a national effort to create a more modern, integrated, and live data and surveillance system.
The CDC’s DMI Strategic Implementation Plan outlines the following goals, or ultimate outcomes, for Public Health. This is an effort to modernize core data and surveillance infrastructure across the federal and state public health landscape:
Rapidly identifying and effectively mitigating emerging threats
Sourcing trusted data to promote evidence-based behaviors, interventions, and solutions to protect health
Giving every American an equal opportunity to attain the highest level of health possible
Having the right information at the right time to make decisions
Being better prepared for, and protected from, all types of public health threats
All players and stakeholders, whether private or public, government or community-level, will need to play a role in facilitating these changes to create more robust, sustainable, and cohesive public health programs.
Funding for Better Public Health
Many agencies want to modernize - but just don’t have the time, resources, or funds to do so. Fortunately, a great deal of private and public funding has now become available for Public Health systems to utilize and undergo this process:
Under several Acts (CARES, ARP & COVID Relief) passed by the U.S. Congress, over $200 billion has been allocated to public health and schools to help recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes addressing the resulting physical and mental health crises and building resiliency for any potential future crises.
The Data Modernization- COVID supplemental award, funded through the ELC Cooperative Agreement awarded $200 million to 64 public health jurisdictions for a two-year program that will support data modernization efforts in different areas.
On June 23, 2022, the CDC announced Strengthening U.S. Public Health Infrastructure, Workforce, and Data Systems, a new, flexible funding opportunity that will provide nearly $4 billion over five years to improve critical public health infrastructure to health departments across the country.
These are just some of the funding opportunities available for the different levels of public health agencies, and there are certainly more to come!
How is Aztute supporting DMI?
Policies and programs driven by accurate data collection and analysis lead to the ability to positively impact health factors and programs, ultimately leading to improved health outcomes, length, and quality of life!
Most public health agencies have already invested in some technologies such as websites, google spreadsheets, EHR, ERP, state-provided systems, dashboards, CMS, and more. It is often difficult to string together disparate tools to meet the key requirements related to data privacy, security, scalability, and the high degree of interoperability that must form the backbone of any public health solution stack. Investing in the public sector means not only investing in new, community-facing technologies but also leveraging existing technologies.
With the right tools, such as the Aztute Precision Public Health Solution, addressing public health threats can be greatly improved and make us better prepared for future crises. Under the model described here, the technology implementation can be categorized into four main domains: detection, response, recovery, and prevention. A common theme across all domains is a data-platform that integrates data from the community and provides timely and relevant insights to public health stakeholders in real time, allowing improved coordination and proactive responses. The cyclical nature of the proposed model attempts to capture the need for an adaptive, recurring, and continuously improving public health response.
Various solutions connect public health agencies with communities, businesses, and healthcare systems to detect, prevent, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies—supporting all aspects of the DMI.
Detect
Aztute’s solution helps detect threats, outbreaks and other emerging health issues in the community through collection and monitoring of data collected from the community.
Without Data Modernization
Fax machines
Spreadsheets
Siloed systems
Paper-based forms
With Data Modernization
Use of mobile devices and other smart technologies to capture and monitor data collected directly from the community.
Integration of 3rd party data and interoperability with external systems.
Targeted testing and surveillance tools.
Automated Detection: via rules-based algorithms to detect abnormal patterns or changes
Customized, Online Community Needs Assessments leveraging Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) data.
Respond
It helps respond quickly by using public health tools (case management), making data-driven decisions and implementing policies in collaboration with community partners with accuracy and speed.
Without Data Modernization
Websites
Email
Flyers
Verbal communication
Paper-based disparate systems
Spreadsheets
With Data Modernization
Realtime, Secure Collaboration with Community partners & stakeholders
Targeted Communications such as generation and distribution of established policies, protocols, guidelines and evidence-based content
Multi-channel Content Distribution - emails, text alerts, apps, online chat, websites, kiosks
Automated Non-Pharmaceutical Intervention (NPI) tools for Contact Tracing, Case Management, Surveillance, and Quarantine Management
Recover
Through data, research and community collaboration, it helps identify systemic causes and apply appropriate interventions as part of recovery and long-term health improvement of the community.
Without Data Modernization
Phone calls
In-person meetings
Traveling on-site
Paper-based documentation
With Data Modernization
Online referrals to other agencies and providers
Telehealth Counseling
Automated distribution of targeted content
Customizable Inspection and Compliance tools
Prevent
Using predictive analytics, policy enforcement and evidence-based health education, it helps in the prevention of communicable diseases, wellness, chronic diseases, and mental health crisis’s.
Without Data Modernization
Reactive
Flyers
Training
Bulletins
With Data Modernization
Preventative
Powerful predictive analytics engine to prepare for and proactively respond to emerging health crisis.
Delivery of evidence-based health education and content to promote good health
Target populations or areas based on SDOH analysis
Examples of DMI
DMI should be at the core of every public health program- providing a 360-degree view of the community with instant access to data to make data-driven decisions. Examples include:
Controlling disease outbreaks and the spread of other diseases requires rapid response through detection and early response. Data collected for COVID-19 and other communicable diseases can be easily centralized, so reporting results to local and state health authorities can be done with just a click of a button to reduce reporting timelines, reduce cost of data collection and be better prepared for external threats.
Supporting Community Health Assessment (CHA), which requires collecting primary data directly from community residents to hear the community’s voice. By automating, standardizing and simplifying data collection for the CHA, public health agencies can better identify areas of need throughout the community and help implement Community Health Improvement Plans (CHIP).
Creating an environment for promoting community collaboration to combat mental health disorders and substance abuse—which are on the rise throughout our communities and across the globe.
Providing complete access to the most trusted, expertly vetted educational resources based on individual needs.
Supporting wellness initiatives designed to reduce the crippling effects of chronic disease through empowering individuals and communities to choose healthy behaviors.
To empower women, children, and families— giving them autonomy and power over their health.
Providing easily accessible resources on reproductive and gynecological health for women as well as developmental screening tools and milestone guides for infants and children—allowing for early identification and intervention when needed.
Supporting public health initiatives across diverse communities– whether it is understanding the challenges of the youth or providing oral health support to the elderly or underserved—all are provided with education and resources.
Having an accurate snapshot of a community's health is key in determining what populations are most vulnerable and how to appropriately allocate resources. DMI is the right approach to building resiliency and responsiveness in public health to keep communities safe and healthy. For more information on DMI, visit https://www.cdc.gov/surveillance/data-modernization/index.html.
About Aztute
Aztute’s mission is to leverage data-driven decision-making to save lives and help the economy recover quickly from public health crises. Our digital SaaS public health platform is based on a precision public healthcare framework that connects public health agencies with their communities, businesses, and healthcare systems to detect, prevent, respond, and recover from such crises.
Built on Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, the Aztute platform leverages AI-driven insights to help predict risk, drive data-driven decisions, and accelerate responses. Our secured Command Center helps public agencies through active monitoring, surveillance, compliance, communication, and collaboration, driving safe and rapid recovery from public health crises.
References:
Accelerating Data Modernization in Public Health Departments
https://www.cdc.gov/csels/dmi-support/accelerating_data_modernization_in_public_health_departments.htmlCDC’s Data Modernization Initiative Strategic Implementation Plan
https://www.cdc.gov/surveillance/pdfs/FINAL-DMI-Implementation-Strategic-Plan-12-22-21.pdf
ARP: American Rescue Plan (HEERF III)
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/arp.html
EY US survey: US public health officials agree digital transformation can help prepare for future crises – but lack consensus on next steps
HEALTH WORKFORCE, INFRASTRUCTURE AND DATA SYSTEMS
Senators propose bipartisan legislation to bolster pandemic preparedness and examine US Covid-19 response
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/25/politics/covid-19-bill-us-response-origins/index.html