Understanding and defining the business processes and tasks of the public health agency can help improve the impact of community health programs as well as define efficiencies.  Business process analysis (BPA) provides an optimal first step in setting forth requirements for health information systems that support key functions and activities of LHDs.

Through funding by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation®(RWJF), the Common Ground program aims to transform public health information systems by providing an opportunity for LHDs to collaborate to understand their business processes and develop a         set of requirement for the information systems that support those processes.

RWJF awarded 31 grants in December 2007, divided among three program areas:

• Informatics Capacity,
• Requirements Development for Chronic Disease programs, and
• Requirements Development for Public Health Preparedness.

The Public Health Informatics Institute is the national program office for the program. NACCHO is a strategic partner of the program.

It is imperative that LHDs understand their business processes in order to develop the core capacity and IT infrastructure necessary to adhere to the Operational Definition of a Local Public Health System and the 10 Essential Public Health Services, as well as current public health data standards, and data exchange requirements set forth by the CDC.

NACCHO's Public Health Inforamtics Workgroup has worked with the Public Health Informatics Institute to identify and map common local public health business processes.  The results of this research can be found in the following document - Taking Care of Business: A collaboration to define local health department business processes. 

For more information about Common Ground, visit www.commongroundprogram.org.