Meetings
Spring Congress

AMIA 2001 Spring Congress AMIA 2001 Spring Congress


Go Back Spring Congress Main Page Welcome Program Committee Speaker List
Breakout Facilitators and Invited Experts



Welcome from the Chairman

William A. Yasnoff, MD, PhD


Developing a
National Agenda
for Public Health Informatics





William A. Yasnoff, MD, PhD
AMIA 2001 Spring Congress Program Committee Chair

The vast potential of information technology to assist in the pursuit of public health objectives has yet to be realized. Today, it is not difficult to imagine a public health system where all reportable disease and lab information is available within 24 hours of collection, analysis of that data for anomalies is ongoing and automatic, and alerts are distributed in an automated fashion to relevant members of both the public health and clinical community. Furthermore, a steady stream of electronic information from a wide variety of sources regarding the health status of every community would be continuously collected, analyzed, and disseminated. Information technology also would allow delivery of customized, individualized prevention reminders to the general public. Development of the electronic medical record may enable even more advanced applications, such as automated reminders to clinicians for individually-tailored preventive services, and specific syndromic surveillance that can be activated on demand by public health officials.

However, we are a long way from this ideal scenario. Although public health was an early adopter of computer technology, it has almost exclusively been applied in pursuit of narrow, categorical applications that cannot easily be integrated into functional systems that can monitor the health of communities and guide improvement efforts. In addition, the basic infrastructure, telecommunications and computer systems, needed to implement effective information systems has been very slow to develop particularly in small, financially strapped local health departments. Public health professionals typically do not have the training and experience necessary to make strategic investment decisions about information technology and to effectively implement information systems. As a result, generally known principles are not uniformly applied, which greatly increases the already high risks involved in these efforts.

Meanwhile, public health is facing new and difficult challenges from issues such as bioterrorism, emerging infections, and antibiotic-resistant organisms. Also, there is an increasing need in public health to exchange information effectively with other partners in the community, such as health plans, that are pursuing similar objectives. These trends greatly increase both the need and urgency for the expanded and effective use of information technology in public health.

Public health informatics, defined as the application of information and computer sciences to public health practice, research, and learning, is the emerging discipline that integrates public health with information technology. The development of this field and dissemination of informatics knowledge and expertise to public health professionals is the key to unlocking the potential of information systems to improve the health of the nation.

Over the past several decades, substantial work has been undertaken in the application of information technology in clinical care through the development of the field of medical informatics. The development and refinement of electronic medical records systems and the establishment of integrated academic information management systems represent a vast experience base that can be applied to similar problems in public health.

It is with these issues in mind that AMIA has selected the topic of public health informatics for its 2001 Spring Congress. The purpose of this conference is to bring together the medical informatics and public health communities to exchange ideas, learn from each other, and develop a national agenda for public health informatics that can be a guide to the realization of the untapped potential of information technology to improve the health of communities.



Program Committee

William A. Yasnoff, MD, PhD, Chair
Chair, Associate Director for Science
Public Health Practice Program Office,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Lael Gatewood, PhD
Professor and Director of the Division of
Health Computer Sciences in the Medical School,
University of Minnesota

Rita Kukafka, DrPH, MA
Postdoctoral Fellow Medical Informatics
Columbia University

John Loonsk, MD
Associate Director for Informatics and
Chief Information Officer
National Center for Infectious Diseases,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Betsy Humphreys, MLS
Associate Director for Library Operations and
Assistant Director for Health
Services Research Information,
National Library of Medicine

Michael Wagner, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine and Intelligent Systems at the
Center for Biomedical Informatics
University of Pittsburgh



Speaker List

Constantin Aliferis, MD, PhD
Vanderbilt University

David W. Bates, MD
Partners Health Care

Suzanne Bakken, RN, DNSc
Columbia University

William Braithwaite, MD, PhD
US Department of Health and Human Services

Claire Broome, MD, MPH
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Christopher G. Chute, MD, DrPH
Mayo Clinic

James J. Cimino, MD
Columbia University

Diane Dwyer, MD
Maryland Department of Health

David Fleming, MD
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Seth Foldy, MD
Milwaukee City Health Department

Charles Friedman, PhD
University of Pittsburgh

Lael Gatewood, PhD
University of Minnesota

Julie L. Gerberding, MD, MPH
University of California San Francisco

Kenneth W. Goodman, PhD
University of Miami

Ivan Gotham, PhD
New York Department of Health

W. Ed Hammond, PhD
Duke University

Gail Horlick, MSW, JD
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Stanley M. Huff, MD
Intermountain Health Care

Alana Knudson-Buresh, PhD
ASTHO

Edwin M. Kilbourne, MD
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Pete Kitch, MBA
Kansas Health Institute

Denise Koo, MD, MPH
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Rita Kukafka, DrPH, MA
Columbia University
Martin LaVenture, MPH
Minnesota Department of Health

Robert Linkins, PhD, MPH
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

John Loonsk, MD
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

John R. Lumpkin, MD, MPH
Illinois Department of Public Health and Chair,

Steve McDonald, PhD, MPH
Washington Health Department

J. Michael McGinnis, MD
Health Group, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Perry Miller, MD, PhD
Yale University

Kathleen R. Miner, PhD, MPH, CHES
Emory University - School of Public Health

Mark Oberle, MD, MPH
University of Washington - School of Public Health

Patrick W. O’Carroll, MD, MPH
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

J. Marc Overhage, MD, PhD
Regenstrief Institute

Joseph Reid, PhD
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Dave Ross, ScD
All Kids Count

Murray G. Sagsveen, JD
North Dakota Department of Health

Edward H. Shortliffe, MD, PhD
Columbia University

Kent Spackman, MD, PhD
SNOMED, International

William W. Stead, MD
Vanderbilt University

James Studnicki, ScD, MBA, MPH
University of South Florida

William M. Tierney, MD
Regenstrief Institute

Michael Wagner, MD, PhD
University of Pittsburgh

G. David Williamson, PhD
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

William A. Yasnoff, MD, PhD
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention



Breakout Facilitators and Invited Experts


1 - Funding and Governance
 
Program Committee Member   William A. Yasnoff, MD, PhD, Chair
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
 
Facilitators Rachel Block, HCFA
  Seth Foldy, MD, Milwaukee City Health Department
  Michael R. Fraser, PhD, HRSA
  David A. Ross, ScD, All Kids Count
 
Invited Experts Delton Atkinson, MPH, MSPH, NAPHSIS
  Francis Chesley, MD, AHRQ
  Robert J. Esterhay, Jr, MD, University of Louisville Health Sciences Center
  Jerry Gibson, MD, CSTE
  Alan Hinman, MD, MPH, All Kids Count
  Blackford Middleton, MD, MPH, MSc, Oregon Health & Sciences University
  Denton Peterson, PhD, Minnesota Department of Health
  Michael L. Popovich, MS, Scientific Technologies Corporation
 
2 - Information Architecture and Electronic Infrastructure
 
Program Committee Member John Loonsk, MD
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
 
Facilitators: Ivan Gotham, PhD, New York Department of Health
  W. Ed Hammond, PhD, Duke University
  J. Marc Overhage, MD, PhD, Regenstrief Institute
  Joseph Reid, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
 
Invited Experts Andrew Doniger, MD, MPH, Monroe County (NY) Health Department
  Pete Kitch, MBA, Kansas Health Institute
  Garland Land, Missouri Health Department
  Charles Magruder, MD, MPH, Wichita-Sedgwick County (KS) Health Department
  Patrick W. O'Carroll, MD, MPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  Russ Scarato, PhD, HRSA
 
3 - Standards and Vocabulary
 
Program Committee Member Betsy Humphreys, MLS
National Library of Medicine
 
Facilitators Christopher G. Chute, MD, DrPH, Mayo Clinic
  Diane Dwyer, MD, Maryland Department of Health
  Stanley M. Huff, MD, Intermountain Health Care
  Denise Koo, MD, MPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
 
Invited Experts Susan Abernathy, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  Pamela Akison, PhD, NAPHSIS
  Simon Cohn, MD, MPH, Kaiser-Permanente
  J. Michael Fitzmaurice, PhD, AHRQ
  Marjorie S. Greenberg, MA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  Nancy L. Hoffman, RN, MSN, Missouri Department of Health
  Robert A. Jenders, MD, MS, Columbia University
  Daniel B. Jernigan, MD, MPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  Bryant Karrass, MD, University of Washington
  Alan Melnick, MD, Clackamas County (OR) Public Health Division
  R. Gibson "Gib" Parrish, MD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  Daniel Pollock, MD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  Gil Silva, MS, HRSA
  Kent Spackman, MD, PhD, SNOMED International
  Mark S. Tuttle, Apelon, Inc.
 
4 - Research, Evaluation, and Best Practices
 
Program Committee Member Rita Kukafka, DrPH, MA
Columbia University
 
Facilitators William W. Stead, MD, Vanderbilt University
  David W. Bates, MD, Partners Health Care
  Suzanne Bakken, RN, DNSc, Columbia University
  Martin LaVenture, MPH, Minnesota Department of Health
 
Invited Experts Andrew Friede, MD, MPH, Cerner Corporation
  Charles Friedman, PhD, University of Pittsburgh
  Roland Gamache, MBA, PhD, Indiana State Department of Health
  Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  Robert Gold, PhD, DrPH, University of Maryland
  Murray Hudson, MPH, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control
  Patrick Lenihan, Chicago Department of Public Health
  Perry L. Miller, MD, PhD, Yale University
  Michael Millman, PhD, HRSA/OA/OPEL
 
5 - Privacy, Confidentiality, and Security
 
Program Committee Member Michael Wagner, MD, PhD
University of Pittsburgh
 
Facilitators Kenneth W. Goodman, PhD, University of Miami
  Gail Horlick, MSW, JD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  Steven Macdonald, PhD, MPH, Washington State Department of Health
  Derek Simmel, MSCS, CISSP, Carnegie-Mellon University
 
Invited Experts Dixie B. Baker, PhD, SAIC
  William Braithwaite, MD, PhD, US Department of Health and Human Services
  Kathleen Cook, Lincoln-Lancaster (NE) Health Department
  Hamish Fraser, MBChB, MSc, Harvard Medical School
  Rebecca Hines, MHS, HRSA/OA/OPEL
  Murray G. Sagsveen, JD, North Dakota Department of Health
  Jack Smith, MD, PhD, University of Texas at Houston
  Latanya Sweeney, Carnegie-Mellon University
  Wally Wilhoite, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
 
6 - Training and Workforce
 
Program Committee Member Lael Gatewood, PhD
University of Minnesota
 
  Facilitators Kathleen R. Miner, PhD, MPH, CHES, Emory University School of Public Health
  Mark Oberle, MD, MPH, University of Washington School of Public Health
  G. David Williamson, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  Elaine Martin, MSLS, MA, University of Massachusetts
 
Invited Experts Nancy J. Allee, MLS, MPH, University of Michigan
  Noreen Clark, PhD, University of Michigan
  Milton Corn, MD, NLM
  Carole Gassert, PhD, RN, HRSA
  Neil Hann, MPH, CHES, Oklahoma State Department of Health
  Denise Hase, Northwest Colorado Health Department
  Alana Knudson-Buresh, PhD, ASTHO
  Janise Richards, MS, MPH, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  Neil Rambo, MLS, University of Washington
  Annette Valenta, DrPH, University of Illinois Chicago
 


Go Back



American Medical Informatics Association
4915 St. Elmo Avenue, Suite 401
Bethesda, MD 20814
phone: 301-657-1291 I
fax: 301-657-1296

© 2000 American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved.