From Data Burden to Data Power: Health Departments Can’t Wait on AI

Josh DeLung, VP, Population Health, Altarum. 

City and county health departments are facing a perfect storm. The opioid epidemic continues to evolve. Climate-driven health threats like wildfire smoke and heat waves are becoming routine emergencies. Communities are still reckoning with the long shadow of COVID-19 while also preparing for the next pandemic and, in some cases, reacting to outbreaks of previously eliminated threats. Through it all, federal funding priorities are shifting, with ripple effects for how states and localities manage public health.

With so much at stake, local leaders need as many force multipliers as they can get. That’s why local health departments cannot afford to wait on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capacity-building and solution deployment. The question is no longer whether AI will shape public health, but whether your department will be ready to put it to work.

Why Now? A Shifting Funding and Policy Landscape
CDC’s $4.8 billion Public Health Infrastructure Grant program is modernizing systems across the country. But federal leaders are making it clear: These investments in states and communities must be matched by smarter use of technology. The Administration’s AI Executive Order and congressional hearings on AI governance underscore that momentum. 

Funding opportunities in public health increasingly seek efficiencies that integrate AI/ML to improve preparedness and response. And AI/ML is a key priority under the broader Data Modernization Initiative (DMI), a strategic pillar that PHIG is designed to support. In this environment, departments that harness AI not only respond better to crises—they position themselves for future funding and partnership opportunities while also saving lives. 

Boston provides a great example of AI innovations that could potentially save lives. The B-COOL project convened partners from academia, government, foundations, and technology companies to pilot the use of heat sensor data that warns residents when heat in their area is more dangerous than the levels reported by the National Weather Service. This is because of the urban heat island effect caused by large areas of asphalt and other factors. Now, Mass General Brigham and IBM are joining forces to build an AI tool that directs people living in those urban heat islands to cooling centers nearby. 

What AI Can Deliver for Local Health Departments
Weather data gives us just one fun example, but AI/ML solutions can help address many more of today’s biggest public health challenges:

• Faster outbreak detection: Scan case data for unusual patterns before they escalate into community spread.
• Opioid and behavioral health surveillance: Predictive models help identify at-risk populations and target interventions.
• Automated medical data coding and reporting: Reduce clerical burden while ensuring compliance with federal and state requirements.
• Smarter communication campaigns: Rapid, culturally tailored messaging to counter misinformation and engage communities effectively.

For more on AI/ML and data modernization, check out Altarum’s whitepaper. 

AI/ML systems, when properly deployed, operate in secure, closed-loop environments, so sensitive organizational or patient health information stays safe while your staff gains critical new capacity. 

The Urgency for Local Leaders
Every week brings another reminder: an outbreak here, an air quality alert there, or a surge in overdose deaths. The difference between a timely, data-driven response and a delayed one can be measured in lives saved.

AI isn’t a luxury add-on anymore. It’s becoming the expected standard in policy, funding priorities, and community readiness. Local health departments that adopt AI now will be better prepared—not just for the next grant cycle, but for the next crisis.

Let’s Build Smarter Systems Together
At Altarum, we help local health leaders improve health for all, translating innovation into healthier communities. With deep expertise in data modernization, health communication, technical assistance, community health domain knowledge, Medicaid and Medicare, applied research and analytics, and secure AI adoption, we’re ready to help you identify high-impact use cases, pilot solutions quickly, and scale them for long-term success while building your team’s internal capacity.

*The above message is sponsored by NACCHO Affiliate Business Partner, Altarum.