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This CDC-funded program will accelerate data exchange between healthcare and public health to drive timely, data-informed public health action.

ARLINGTON, VA – Today, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI), and Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) announced the launch of a new Implementation Center Program to support public health agencies as they modernize their data systems. Implementation Centers will provide tailored support and technical assistance to health departments and other public health agencies to help them adopt and integrate the latest health information technology standards for data exchange. The goal is to reduce the burden on public health agencies, health care systems and providers, labs, and other data providers to seamlessly exchange information for rapid detection of and response to health threats. This program and the services it will provide to state, tribal, local and territorial health departments and organizations are made possible by $255M in funding via the Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG) from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Fast and reliable sharing of data between healthcare, public health, and among public health authorities is key to our ability to detect and respond to new and emerging threats, improve health outcomes, and promote health equity. These Implementation Centers will provide direct support to health departments to adopt new technology and data standards to better connect healthcare data into the public health ecosystem. This means more complete, secure, and faster sharing of data to inform public health actions.”

Jennifer Layden, MD, PhD, Director for CDC’s Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology.

ASTHO, NNPHI, and PHAB are pleased to announce the selection of three organizations that will serve as Implementation Centers for state, territorial and local health agencies: CRISP Shared Services, Guidehouse, and Mathematica. The program also includes a fourth Implementation Center to support tribal health agencies and tribal-serving organizations. The PHIG National Partners published a request for proposals (RFP) for the Tribal Implementation Center on Monday, June 10, 2024 and will accept proposals through July 28, 2024.

“The PHIG National Partners will be working directly with Tribal partners to launch a Tribal Implementation Center. This center will move tribal public health systems toward modern, standards-based approaches that result in more timely and complete data exchange among public health agencies, healthcare providers treating American Indian/Alaska Native populations, and tribal-serving organizations. Tribes and tribal-serving organizations will play a central role in designing solutions to unique data challenges while maintaining sovereignty over their data.”

Chris Tall Bear, MLS, Tribal Public Health Advisor for NNPHI

The Implementation Center Program is designed to benefit public health agencies across the country, whether directly through participation in the program or indirectly through resources such as guidance documents, webinars, and other offerings that synthesize findings and emerging lessons learned from the program.

More information about the Implementation Center Program can be found at the PHIG Partners website.

This is an abbreviated version of a press release published by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO). The complete press release can be found on ASTHO’s newsroom page.

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ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. territories and freely associated states, and Washington, D.C., as well as the more than 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to ensuring excellence in public health practice.

NNPHI is the official organization representing 50 public health institutes in 41 states spanning all ten Department of Health and Human Services regions.  NNPHI supports national public health system initiatives and strengthens public health institutes to promote multi sector activities resulting in measurable improvements of public health structures, systems, and outcomes. NNPHI also serves as the National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training – NCCPHT.

PHAB is a 501(c)(3) organization and is the sole national accrediting body for public health in the U.S. PHAB supports health departments in their work to serve their communities with many tools and resources, and helps strengthen health department infrastructure, workforce, and data modernization efforts to promote public health system transformation.