Use of e-mail within the agency has greatly improved communication in all areas of the department . The successful implementation of email was critical to the start-up of Florida's new Department of Health, January 1997. The network formed a vital link between the central offices and each of the 67 county health departments. Departmental Intranet forms the central hub for key information . As the internal network was developed, so too was a design for basic intranet information menus using browser software that, when fully developed, will serve to provide information on all departmental policies, procedures, plans, indicator systems, and other information of statewide interest.
Network provides infrastructure for development of all new systems development projects .
An example of this is in the development of the Florida Immunization Registry going into initial pilot in 2 counties. The network provides for high speed connections and immunization history information to be shared and transferred from county to county or from county to state and visa versa. A model for this activity is the Public Health Indicators Data System. This database contains outcome measures for over 300 public health indicators on a county, district, and statewide basis and is currently accessed by over 350 public health staff throughout the state. Compared to dial-up access, use of the statewide network provided faster connections to the system, and expanded access to additional staff in that modems are no longer needed.