HIMSS is leading a new campaign with the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), and National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS) to support legislative efforts in the House and Senate to improve public health data systems – Data: Elemental to Health.
Our nation’s public health data systems are in need of modernization to eliminate outdated, paper-based and sluggish processes. New appropriations and authorization legislation now being considered in Congress would help establish an interoperable, integrated public health surveillance enterprise for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state, territorial, local and tribal health departments.
We Need Your Help to Build the Public Health Data Infrastructure of the 21st Century
Today is the Data Day of Digital Action. The goal of this day is to generate a coordinated groundswell of outreach to educate members of Congress about the need to improve public health data systems. The more people that voice their support for an interoperable public health surveillance enterprise, the greater impact we will have.
Taking action is simple and will take you less than five minutes but will have a huge impact. A prewritten letter has been developed – with the option to customize or write your own – that will be automatically sent to your two senators and one representative in Congress through the HIMSS Legislative Action Center. The letter stresses the importance of improving the nation’s public health surveillance infrastructure.