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Public Health Surveillance and Data








How Data Authority Improves Public HealthThe Nation Benefits When Public Health Connects						Print
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										Download and print the How Data Authority Improves Public Health [695 KB, 2 Pages] fact sheet.More consistent and detailed data will help our nation rapidly find and face emerging public health issues.CDC needs to have access to the “minimal necessary data elements” to paint a clearer picture of the nation’s health and address public health threats of concern.THESE DATA MAY INCLUDE:
Electronic case reporting
Electronic laboratory reporting
Vital statistics data
Emergency department visits (syndromic surveillance) on key conditions/syndromes
Hospital/healthcare capacity indicators (e.g., staffed bed capacity)
Wastewater and non-patient testing approaches
Immunization data**DATA MODERNIZATION AND DATA AUTHORITY efforts will work hand in hand.**
CDC is leading efforts to modernize core data and surveillance infrastructure across the federal, state, tribal, and territorial public health landscape. To make the most of these investments, we must also modernize the authority that governs how, what, and when public health data are collected and shared. A modern, technology- and data-driven society must have a coordinated and connected public health data system that meets the nation’s day-to-day needs and expectations, particularly during an emergency.
**DATA AUTHORITY CAN HELP FILL GAPS in our existing data systems.**
Currently, CDC receives data from a wide variety of public health and healthcare sources, often in inconsistent ways, creating major gaps and blind spots in our public health surveillance systems. Data authority would modernize CDC’s legal ability to access secure public health data in a timely and coordinated way. Data authority will enable information to travel more seamlessly to everyone who needs it, eliminating duplication and making data sharing less complex.
Whenever possible, data should be shared simultaneously across all levels of public health. CDC external subject matter experts will advise on how data authority can help fill the gaps between what we have now and what our nation might need for the future.
**PROTECTING PEOPLE’S PRIVACY WILL REMAIN A PRIORITY.**
CDC has decades of experience collecting and protecting public health data. Any new data authority will not change CDC’s legal responsibility to strictly adhere to existing privacy standards and laws, including the Privacy Act.NATIONALLY COORDINATED DATA will benefit states and healthcare providersBenefits for StatesReduces the confusion and burden of navigating many data use agreements
Streamlines reporting processes
Improves the ability of states to access public health data from other states and regionsBenefits for ProvidersReduces burden and duplication of effort
Create standards to promote interoperability between healthcare and public health systems
Enables providers to get better information from CDC
Provides more real-time data to support public health and clinical needsWE NEED A CLEAR, NATIONAL PICTURE that transcends state borders. This will guide local, state, tribal, territorial, and federal decision-making and improve our country’s ability to:
clear national data picture: prevent and stop spread; link data; provide timely recommendations and more county-level data; identify and monitor outbreaks; forecast how diseases will progress
**PREVENT AND STOP THE SPREAD** of outbreaks by improving situational awareness of conditions of public health concern.
**LINK DATA ACROSS TIME AND SPACE** in ways that promote better insights and empower local jurisdictions to identify outbreaks more efficiently.
**PROVIDE TIMELY RECOMMENDATIONS** and data that guide individual, clinical, and community health actions.
**PROVIDE MORE COUNTY-LEVEL DATA TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT,** including timely dashboards and data on case counts, lab testing volumes and trends, emergency visits, deaths, and demographic information on disease trends.
**IDENTIFY AND MONITOR OUTBREAKS** and investigations that stretch across different jurisdictions.
**FORECAST HOW DISEASE OUTBREAKS AND PUBLIC HEALTH CONDITIONS WILL PROGRESS** and spread to drive public health and policy decisions and actions.The opportunity is here now to provide CDC legal authority for data collection so that our nation’s data can move quickly, seamlessly, securely, and consistently.
							
					
							Last Reviewed:  January 22, 2024						Source: 	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology
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        Syndicate homeSurveillance and DataData Modernization Initiativeplus icon2022 DMI Snapshotplus iconWhat Does Data Modernization Look Like?Welcome to the 2022 DMI SnapshotHow the Snapshot WorksBasicsPrioritiesplus iconBuilding the Right FoundationAccelerating Data into ActionDeveloping a State-of-the-Art WorkforceSupporting and Extending PartnershipsManaging Change and GovernancePartnershipsplus iconConsortium for Data ModernizationFederal AgenciesOrganizationsState, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Health DepartmentsIndustry PartnershipsCDC and USDS: Innovation through PartnershipTechnologiesplus iconNorth Star ArchitectureArtificial Intelligence and Machine LearningCloud 101: Storing and Sharing InformationEnterprise Data, Analytics, and VisualizationCDC Front DoorImproving Public Health Data PipelinesDMI and COVID-19DMI and Health EquityWhy Sustainable Funding MattersMonitoring + EvaluationNotable Milestones: 2019-2023Data Policy and Standardsplus iconData AuthorityAdvancing InteroperabilityData Modernization and PoliciesBlogs and StoriesPublications and Resourcesplus iconModernizing for New and Complex Threats2021 DMI Snapshot To receive email updates about Public Health Surveillance and Data, enter your email address Email Address			What's this				Submit


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