Data Exchange to Save Lives: IIS and HIE Relationships & The Laws Protecting Public Health Data
March 30, 2023 | Lillian Colasurdo, J.T. Lane, Jamie Pina, Elizabeth Ruebush
This pair of ASTHOReports explore opportunities for improved public health action through immunization data sharing with health information exchanges, in addition to the broader legal landscape of public health data. These reports, developed with support from the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, provide health, data, technology, and policy leaders with context and considerations for enhancing data sharing to advance population health.
Immunization Information Systems and Health Information Exchanges
Enhanced partnership and data sharing between immunization information systems (IISs) and health information exchanges (HIEs) can support improved public health and healthcare action and decision-making. This report, developed in partnership with AIM, AIRA, Civitas Networks for Health, Mathematica, and Guidehouse, explores the dynamics influencing IIS and HIE data sharing, including IIS-HIE partnership history, governance and legal factors, funding, participants, technical factors, inter- and intra-jurisdictional considerations, technical factors, and COVID-19-specific influences. This report also includes considerations for health, data, and technology leaders interested in advancing IIS and HIE connectivity.
Legal Landscape of Public Health Data
Successful data modernization will require the transformation of our public health surveillance and data infrastructure—in addition to modernization of the laws and policies governing safe and timely data collection, exchange, and use. This legal scan summarizes state statutes and regulations impacting four key domains of public health data: immunization information, case and laboratory reporting, vital statistics, and syndromic surveillance.