Someone mentioned that the last time the CSTE conference was held in Pittsburgh was in 2011. That’s why most people didn’t remember it being here before when I asked, “Why are we back in Pittsburgh again for CSTE again?” Reflecting on the 13 years of CSTE conferences since the last time in Pittsburgh (which I believe was my third year), I can see how the conference has both evolved and maintained its core essence.
I recognize many faces, and the quality of presentations, inspiring conversations, and networking remains consistent. However, the conference has grown significantly in size, with more attendees, a tighter schedule, and numerous networking events and opportunities for conversations both small and large. This growth makes me need to take a few days off when I return home to clear my head and rest.
I appreciated the Sunday Surveillance/Informatics workshop this year. With a couple of small changes, it was one of the better informatics workshops in many years. I especially appreciated how the registration format allowed for a more varied group of attendees than in the past. The workshop was well planned, featuring a session by CDC with an overview of the CDC OPHDST organization and responsibilities, and a deeper dive into case notification and the minimal data necessary. It also included panel discussions on eCR and data exchange using FHIR, an overview of TEFCA, and a final speed networking session. The whole day had a nice mix of presentations, panels, discussions, and read-outs.
We also stepped away from the workshop to attend the State EPI lunch, where HLN was a sponsor. It was refreshing to sit down with the State EPIs, engage in conversations relevant to them, and briefly forget about informatics.
We alternated between networking in the exhibit hall and attending sessions for the rest of the conference. The amount of excellent work on display throughout the conference was amazing. Compared to last year, many agencies are now implementing DMI-related activities, rather than just planning – a truly impressive step towards a more modern public health data environment.
You can download the slides from our two presentations here:
We are currently working on a more detailed post regarding our findings from the disease surveillance landscape assessment we spoke about at the conference.
These are some comments from the HLN staff attending the conference:
- While plenary and presentation sessions addressed important and interesting topics, the great benefit of attending the annual CSTE conference is the opportunity to interact with the community. Making new connections, re-establishing old ones, and meeting face-to-face with folks you’ve only ever “met” in web meetings truly enriches the experience of working in Public Health informatics. Discussing new ideas with others provides nourishing food for thought.
- This was my first time attending the CSTE conference. I gained great benefits in attending in multiple ways; getting a broader perspective of our area of work and involved parties, hearing about how the work we do is being used in the community, and most of all, getting to meet and see people in person who I’ve only communicated with online.
- Motivated by the overwhelming positive feedback from last year’s event, I was really looking forward to attending the Annual CSTE Conference. I thoroughly enjoyed engaging in client conversations and gaining deeper insights into the systems and software that we work with. It was a pleasure to meet the individuals I regularly correspond with via email, both daily and throughout the month.
- I was excited to see all the progress around eCR and RCKMS presented at the CSTE Conference this year. While challenges are still present, there are many stories of how Public Health Agencies are able to validate their data using eCR messages and identify cases that they were not previously aware of. The level of knowledge and understanding of the eCR workflow and the RCKMS Authoring Tool has greatly increased across the community and the amount of knowledge sharing and collaboration is awesome to see.
- This year’s CSTE conference was very busy and very well attended, with sessions going strong for about 10 hours each day. There were several sessions that directly or indirectly highlighted the benefits of electronic case reporting, along with the challenges for PHAs around ingesting and managing eCR data. I was really impressed with the presentations I saw, and the dedication and creative problem solving of the public health agencies.
- This year was my first CSTE Conference and it was a wonderful experience. I enjoyed meeting and networking with members of the HLN team, eCR team, and folks from my assigned RCKMS jurisdictions. The eCR sessions provided insight into the challenges PHAs face in their eCR processes and the impressive solutions they are testing. It was great to hear first-hand about the experiences of RCKMS users and I can’t wait for next year!