Public Health Informatics
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NACCHO is the membership organization of the country's local health departments (LHDs). NACCHO understands that access to timely and relevant data is essential for enhancing decision-making and delivering effective public health services.
NACCHO supports local health departments in their data modernization efforts and champions the collection, analysis, and dissemination of complete, timely, and accurate information that allows public health programs to make better decisions.
As part of its effort to support Data Modernization, NACCHO works with Local Health Departments (LHDs) to improve the timeliness and quality of data. Currently, NACCHO provides funding support to two LHD pilot sites to test the feasibility of using HL7 FHIR for public health data exchange. Pilot sites are tasked with working with their state health department partners to establish a common use case and implement FHIR standards for data exchange. Pilot sites also contribute to a playbook resource which can be used by other LHDs to adopt and implement FHIR.
Pilot sites participated in two phases of the project. During phase I, both sites worked on establishing a one-way connection to receive data from their state partner. During Phase II, one pilot site worked to establish a bidirectional data exchange using the same use case, while the second pilot site established a one-way data exchange for a different use case. See below for additional information on the use cases and participating pilot sites.
Current LHDs participating in the pilot program:
Fairfax County Health Department (FCHD)
- Phase I: Fairfax County Health Department collaborated with their state, Virginia Department of Health (VDH), and focused on improving the speed and efficiency of death record sharing between the two entities. The pilot sites used the Vital Records Death Reporting (VRDR) implementation guide (IG) to setup a one-way exchange of vital death records from VDH to FCHD.
- Phase II: For phase II of their collaboration, FCHD and VDH are focused on improving access to birth data as well as the speed and efficiency of data sharing between their organizations. The sites are using Birth and Fetal Death Reporting (BFDR) FHIR IG to set up a one-way exchange of birth records from VDH to FCHD.
Public Health - Seattle & King County (PHSKC)
- Phase I: Public Health Seattle & King County collaborated with Washington State Department of Health to exchange death record data from Washington State’s Vital Records system to King County’s Medical Examiner Office’s (KCMEO) case management system, using the Vital Records Death Reporting (VRDR) Implementation guide (IG).
- Phase II: For phase II of their collaboration, PHSKC and Washington State Department of Health are developing a FHIR connection to transmit death record data from KCMEO’s case management system to the Washington State’s Vital Records system, replacing the current manual entry process and making the exchange bi-directional. The pilot sites are using a combination of VRDR and Medicolegal Death Investigation (MDI) IGs.
Please contact our informatics team at [email protected] to learn more about this project.
Organizational policies play a significant role in local and state data sharing. Recognizing this, NACCHO, in collaboration with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and the Network for Public Health Law (NPHL), developed a policy report to guide state and local public health leaders as they consider organizational policy options to improve state and local data-sharing efforts. This initiative included focus group discussions with participating state, local, and tribal health departments on their projects and learning which policies played critical roles in their successful implementation. For more information on this project, check out the report and case studies below.
Policy Options to Improve Data Sharing Between State and Local Health Departments
Case Studies
As part of its efforts to engage Local Health Departments in the CDC's Data Modernization Initiative (DMI) efforts, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) conducted its 2024 Public Health Informatics Assessment to understand more about public health informatics at local health departments (LHDs), including capacity, critical gaps, infrastructure, and opportunities. Findings from this assessment will assist NACCHO, funding agencies, and LHDs in leveraging health informatics resources and best practices to enhance the health informatics workforce, capabilities and coordination, and strategic prioritization.
If you have any questions regarding this assessment, please contact our team at [email protected]
Local Health Department (LHD) officials need timely, actionable data to plan and respond to infectious disease outbreaks. As part of NACCHO’s efforts to support this, our Infectious Disease Outbreaks: Enhancing Forecasting and Analytics Capabilities for Local Health Departments (LHDs) demonstration site project aimed to equip local health department officials with the skills, abilities, and tools needed to take action based on analytic outputs. Under this project, NACCHO has funded 15 LHDs to build their capacity for integrating forecasting and analytical tools into infectious disease outbreak planning and response.
NACCHO also hosted a Disease Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics Community of Practice (CoP) that focused on sharing experiences and best practices related to infectious disease outbreaks and analytics. The CoP met monthly and provided participants with a space for community discussions on tools and systems, data analytics, and incorporating data in time-sensitive decision-making.
If you are interested in learning more about this project, please contact our team at [email protected].
NACCHO uses policy statements and communications to inform Congress and the administration on many public health issues. NACCHO workgroups actively participate in the development of these policy statements, ensuring they reflect ongoing public health issues. These policy statements are reviewed by the organization's Board of Directors who determine positions on public health issues. NACCHO has several policy statements related to Public Health Informatics. The following policy statements are reviewed and updated by our advisory workgroup.
Additionally, NACCHO’s ePublic Health and Informatics workgroup contributes to other program policy statements upon request.
The Transmission Digest is NACCHO's monthly e-newsletter featuring the latest infectious disease, immunization, informatics, and epidemiology news, as well as upcoming opportunities from NACCHO.
Follow the instructions below to subscribe to NACCHO e-newsletters, including the Transmission Digest:
- Log in to MyNACCHO (or create a free account).
- Go to “My Subscriptions.”
- Check the box next to the e-newsletters you wish you receive.
- Click “Save” at the bottom of the page.
NACCHO’s ePublic Health and Informatics Workgroup provides leadership, guidance, and support to NACCHO’s efforts to increase the capacity of local health departments to use data, information, and technology to improve public health. The workgroup is a community of experts who work to advance the use of informatics and technology by Local Health Departments (LHDs) to get better, faster, more actionable insights into the hands of decision-makers and the public.
If you are interested in learning more about NACCHO’s Advisory Workgroups and applying to be a member, please visit here.
The All of Us Research Program is an NIH-funded program that aims to collect and study data from one million or more people living in the United States with the mission to accelerate health research and medical breakthroughs, and enable individualized prevention, treatment, and care for all. NACCHO, in collaboration with Pyxis Partners, promoted the initiative's aim to create a research community of one million people who will share their unique health data. To learn more about this program, click here.
If you have a resource you’d like to share, questions to ask, or would like to learn more and be part of the conversation around local public health informatics, please complete the following form.
The following resources have been compiled to assist local health departments build their own local public health informatics knowledge capacity.
Have more questions, or know of a resource that could help other local health departments? Email us [email protected]!