On April 30, 2026, the CDC released the latest update to the Public Health Data Strategy (PHDS). Originally launched in 2023 and updated annually, the PHDS guides data modernization efforts across the U.S. public health system. (About the Public Health Data Strategy)
While many of the milestones in the PHDS are specific to the CDC, the strategy’s four goals apply to the entire public health data ecosystem and many of the milestones under each goal have implications for public health organizations across the country. For public health organizations currently navigating Data Modernization (DMI) projects, staying aligned with the PHDS is important for understanding the federal priorities and upcoming technical requirements.
The four strategic goals
The 2026 update to the PHDS maintains the established four goals:
- Strengthen the core of public health data
- Accelerate access to analytic and automated solutions to support public health investigations
- Visualize and share insights to inform public health action
- Advance more open and interoperable public health data
Notable changes in the 2026 PHDS with numbers in parentheses ( ) reference the goal in the PHDS.
Disease Surveillance
The 2026 strategy places emphasis on expanding the reach of disease surveillance:
- Syndromic Surveillance: New targets have been added to expand Emergency Department (ED) visit data through the National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP) (1.01), as well as an added milestone to move ED data processing to 1CDP (3.05).
- Electronic Case Reporting (eCR): Continued emphasis on eCR with a focus on increasing the processing of eCRs once they are received at public health departments (1.03), especially mentioning the use of the APHL/AIMS platform. It also specifically calls out expansion of eCRs among hospitals, including Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) (1.04). It is worth noting that the 2025 goal to expand eCRs for chronic conditions is no longer mentioned in the 2026 PHDS.
- NBS Migration: The CDC continues to encourage jurisdictions to migrate to NBS 7 (2.01). Notably, as with previous PHDS, the strategy does not acknowledge jurisdictions using alternative disease surveillance systems.
RCKMS adoption for the Electronic Lab Reporting use case was included in 2025 but is not listed specifically as a milestone in the 2026 PHDS.
One CDC Data Platform (1CDP)
The CDC’s Data Platform (1CDP) continues to become the central hub for public health data analytics:
- Partner Access: The 1CDP Partner Workspace will be opened to STLT health departments, academia, and other public health organizations (2.03).
- Data Integration: Expansion of the use of 1CDP with additional data sources and reusable tools (2.02). This includes ED data processing (3.05).
- Added analytic capabilities: The platform will gain new features to enable cross-data source analysis (2.04, 2.05).
- Minimal Data Necessary (MDN): Continued support and expansion of the Minimal Data Necessary (MDH) for emergency response, by ensuring that data elements are incorporated into the 1CDP Data Element Repository to support adoption of MDN in CDC data collections (1.05, 4.01).
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Integration
The 2026 PHDS includes specific milestones for AI readiness, including:
- Strengthen AI readiness and promote safe and secure use of AI at public health organizations (2.06)
- Accelerating public health AI adoption through strategic partnerships (2.07)
- Integrating AI-ready analytics features into 1CDP (2.08, 2.09)
Interoperability (FHIR, HDUs, TEFCA)
- FHIR Adoption: Targets for Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) have been updated specifically for mortality data (1.07), vital records (4.03) and the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) (4.02) for 2026. The PHDS does not specifically mention FHIR for any other use cases.
- Intermediaries: While 2025 milestones related to TEFCA are not included in the 2026 strategy, the 2026 PHDS introduces a milestone to expand partnerships between public health agencies and data intermediaries, such as Health Data Utilities (HDUs), by establishing minimal functional requirements and standards for public health intermediaries, and piloting their application in 5 jurisdictions. (4.05)
Implementation Centers (IC)
- The strategy maintains support for tribally-determined projects through the Data Modernization Tribal Implementation Center (3.04). This is also the only reference to the Implementation Centers in the 2026 PHDS.
Data Use Agreements (DUAs)
- Expanded target in 2026 to have a single jurisdictional Data Use Agreement with 10 STLT health departments.
Since its launch in 2023, the PHDS has helped the CDC and its public health partners advance data modernization efforts, and the 2026 updates reflect continued progress toward a more modernized public health system.
HLN is proud to support this journey by partnering with public health organizations at all levels to help advance their Data Modernization goals. HLN’s Data Modernization resources page includes additional information and useful resources related to the Data Modernization Initiative.