The Public Health Informatics Institute (PHII) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) teamed up to host the third virtual Data Modernization Workshop from September 12-14, 2023 with over 400 attendees. When it comes to public health, we all know how important it is to stay on top of innovative approaches and lessons learned. That’s why this workshop was so crucial–it’s all about moving towards more efficient and timely data that can have a positive impact on population health. This three-day event aimed to enhance technical skills, foster equity-centered connections, and bring people together across systems. The goal was to turn those modernization ideas into action by bringing DMI directors and others working at State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial (STLT) Health Departments on DMI initiatives to learn, network, and collaborate.
HLN’s Mike Berry was invited to take part on a panel, led by Helios, titled “The Helios Accelerator – Expanding Public Health Data Sharing Through FHIR.” The adoption of Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) use cases in public health is modernizing the exchange of healthcare-related data. The panel discussed specific topics including the exchange of population level public health data, the application of FHIR-based query/response approaches, and the reporting of sentinel indicator data to assess the state of the local healthcare system. The discussion focused on the experience gained through Helios pilot testing and offered tangible ways that public health agencies can get involved and benefit from the use of FHIR.
HLN’s Aasa Dahlberg Schmit worked with PHII to plan and lead a group activity designed specifically for the STLTs DMI directors. She prepared and facilitated a data governance collaborative workshop with the select group. This included presenting data governance, why it’s important for DMI work, and presenting a framework for data governance so the group could start their discussions. The objective was for the smaller group sessions to create materials the participants could use to move their DMI work forward.