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Meetings
Spring Congress
Spring Congress Main Page Welcome Program Committee Speaker List Breakout Facilitators and Invited Experts
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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.
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
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
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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
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| 1 - Funding and Governance |
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| Program Committee Member | William A. Yasnoff, MD, PhD, Chair
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
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| Facilitators | Rachel Block, HCFA |
| | Seth Foldy, MD, Milwaukee City Health Department |
| | Michael R. Fraser, PhD, HRSA |
| | David A. Ross, ScD, All Kids Count |
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| 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 |
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| 2 - Information Architecture and Electronic Infrastructure |
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| Program Committee Member | John Loonsk, MD Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| 3 - Standards and Vocabulary |
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| Program Committee Member | Betsy Humphreys, MLS National Library of Medicine |
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| 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 |
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| 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. |
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| 4 - Research, Evaluation, and Best Practices |
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| Program Committee Member | Rita Kukafka, DrPH, MA Columbia University |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| 5 - Privacy, Confidentiality, and Security |
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| Program Committee Member | Michael Wagner, MD, PhD University of Pittsburgh |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| 6 - Training and Workforce |
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| Program Committee Member | Lael Gatewood, PhD University of Minnesota |
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| | 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 |
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| 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 |
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