The Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network) is a national surveillance system that integrates environmental hazard, exposure, and health outcome data into one system. The Tracking Network launched in July 2009, and has since been receiving data from 23 funded state and local health departments, and several national partners, e.g., Environmental Protection Agency. Despite this success, some challenges exist in obtaining more timely and complete data to link risk factors, and assign exposure for health outcomes with long latency periods before their detection.
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act (2009) facilitates the adoption of electronic health records (EHR) through incentivizing the meaningful use of certified EHR Technology. Meaningful use is a set of specific objectives and data exchange standards that eligible healthcare professionals and hospitals must achieve to qualify for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Electronic Health Records Incentive Programs. Public health agencies in turn need to have the capacity to accept these data in the mandated standard and determine the potential and use of this increased data.
This presentation will discuss how the Tracking Network is exploring the use of EHR to meet Tracking Network surveillance challenges and provide other opportunities to enhance environmental public health surveillance. We will also present some results of these efforts.
Objective
This presentation will discuss how the Tracking Network is exploring the use of EHR to meet Tracking Network surveillance challenges and provide other opportunities to enhance environmental public health surveillance