Those agencies will have responded to the call for justice sounded in the 1988 report and they will have answered the prayers of tens of millions of uninsured Americans. Information Technology Building a better local safety net may rely on the willingness of people to work together, to merge categorical programs into a better, more integrated whole, but it also depends on computer and video technology that was in its infancy when the last IOM report came out. As I said, linking information systems and coordinating other computerized processes are part of what the local CAP networks will emphasize. So that brings up another question for you to consider. One important way is through sharing data.
Good data provide verifiable, science-based ways to determine the best use of public health dollars.
If we share data broadly, local health departments get a better picture of the general health of the communities they work in. This, in turn, gives the public and their elected officials more confidence in the health department s work and a greater willingness to support the funds they seek to maintain public health. In the past eight months, HRSA has released three major studies that give state and local partners new data they can use to identify gaps in local health care systems and develop strategies to try to close them. In August, we released the Community Health Status Indicators, which provide snapshots of health status down to the county level for all 3,082 U.S. counties. These indicators include a device that lets counties compare their health status with similar peer counties.