Module Components

• Overview

Topics

• Overview of Public Health and Public Health Informatics
• Public Health Data Sources

• Public Health Informatics and Meaningful Use

Nurs460 – HEALTH INFORMATICS FOR REGISTERED NURSES

Module 10: Technology to Support Public Health

Public Health Informatics and Meaningful Use

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF “MEANINGFUL USE” ON PUBLIC HEALTH DATA?

The implementation of certified Electronic Health Record's along with the Health Information Exchange (HIE) will advance the ability of doctors, nurses, hospitals, and federal health officials to identify, monitor, and communicate disease outbreaks instead of relying on a patchwork of reporting mechanisms or survey data. Below are some examples of Public Health Information Systems that will benefit from the Meaningful Use initiative:

Immunization Information Systems (IIS) – These are confidential, population based information systems that are used to collect vaccination data. Current “meaningful use” work will make it possible to connect vaccination data from an Electronic Health Record to a population based IIS.

Electronic Laboratory Reporting (ELR) – ELR’s receive laboratory data from healthcare Pathology Information Systems which allows public health practitioners to derive knowledge about potential reportable conditions.

Syndromic Surveillance Systems (SS) – These systems use individual and population health indicators that are available before there is a diagnosis and or laboratory confirmation to identify potential outbreaks.