Public Health Informatics Education: State

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Public Health Informatics Education State
Local Public Health PerspectiveAMIA 2003

• Marty LaVenture
• Informatics Advisor, Bureau of Health
  Protection.
• Minnesota Department of Health, Minneapolis,
  Minnesota

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Topics for Discussion

• State and Local Public Health Needs
  Informatics Implications
• Example Approach to Senior Leadership
  Training/Education
• Recommendations Future Implications

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Example Surveillance for Infectious Diseases at
MDH
Reportable Disease Surveillance
Influenza Respiratory Surveillance - SARS -
Public
Unexplained Deaths
Veterinary/Animal Health Vectors West Nile Virus
Source Minnesota Department of Health
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.Facing a Wide Spectrum (a Storm) of
Information System Needs

• Example Systems
• Online disease surveillance (e.g. NEDSS)
• New born metabolic hearing screening
• Electronic birth death registration
• Environmental health exposures
• Immunization Registries
• Injury surveillance /Trauma
• Encounter, discharge for quality, safety, cost
• Licensing inspection
• Bio-terrorism Surveillance
• Health Alert Network (HAN)

• Example
• Data Vocabulary Standards
• LOINC
• SNOMED
• HL7
• X.12
• ICD-9/-10
• CPT
• ebXML
• LDAP
• CDE
• E-coding

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Using Informatics to Change Practice
INFORMATICS implies a disciplined approach to
information systems design and implementation
that will drive improvements in public health
practice
Source Adapted from Bellinger, G. Knowledge
Management and the Minnesota Department of Health
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Approaches to Informatics Training/Education

• Activity
• Executive Leadership Training with the Public
  Health Informatics Institute
• Core Competencies Individual Organizational
• Approach
• Modular, Iterative Strategic
• Practical Adult learning focused
• Limited Academic focus

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Example Public Health Informatics Institute -
Leadership Workshop
Workshop Agenda

• Introduction
• Informatics Context
• Key Best Practices
• Just Do It
• Wrap-Up EvaluationAll

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Key Concepts

Introduction

• Informatics principles
• Information system (IS) project success factors
• Change management
• Workforce development
• Evolving governance structures, roles,
  relationships
• Strategic alignment Agency goals program
  objectives informatics strategy practice
  results
• Approaches to strengthen the chain of
  accountability for informatics in practice
• Comprehensive evaluation

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Key Best Practices Overview
Implement Key Informatics Practices

• Manage change pro-actively
• Develop informatics competencies

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Informatics Competencies
Organizational Development
Principles in Practice Managing Change
Informatics Competencies for Public Health
Professionals describes

• Three classes of informatics competencies
• The use of information
• The use of information technology
• The development, deployment, and maintenance of
  information systems
• Required levels of proficiency vary by job
• Front-line staff, senior-level technical staff,
  supervisory and management staff

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Organizational Capacity
Organizational Development
Principles in Practice Managing Change

• The sum of individual competencies does not
  necessarily equal organizational capacity
• Changes may be needed in your organization to
  ensure that information is managed strategically
  and information systems development is done
  coherently and professionally

Moving towards an informatics savvy organization
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Accountability Checklist forIS Project Life Cycle
Key Best Practices Accountability Evaluation
Conceptualize Plan
Conceptualize Plan Define Requirements Design
Implement Test Train Go Live Use, Evaluate
Plan

• Executive roleTo do, or not to do
• Business case
• Strategic fit
• Stakeholders
• Funding / Resources

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Practice Makes Better

• This is a facilitated group session intended to
  help participants apply workshop concepts
• Please see session material under the tab marked
  Just Do It

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Materials

Introduction

• Toolkit
• Resources
• Glossary
• Annotated bibliography
• Slide presentation

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ResultsParticipant Evaluation
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Example Comments

• this is the best workshop I have attended in
  years and I have been to a lot
  (county health official)
• Very practical, I will use this tomorrow
• (health department director)
• I dont get it all yet, but this will be very
  helpful as I work with my county IT staff
• (local director)

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Lessons Learned So FarPublic Health Executives
Need . . .

• Validation that they have an important role
  that role is leadership, management and decision
  making not IT.
• Reminding that Public Health drives IT and not
  vice versa
• To understand they dont have to be technical
  expert to make decisions
• To learn about key Informatics Best Practices
  their role in adapting and implementing them

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Recommendations

• Granting Agencies (e.g., CDC, RWJF, NIH)
• Make the core competencies part of grant
  expectations
• Allow/Promote spending on informatics training
  (include executives)
• Support community driven pilot training efforts
• Contribute to developing a common curriculum,
  based in practice
• Test a multi-step model for follow-up

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Recommendations (continued)

• Public Health Agencies
• Implement executive leadership training consider
  training in collaborative settings (state
  local, executives and managers, admin IT, etc.)
  
• Adopt informatics competencies and establish a
  plan for implementation
• Select adapt informatics Best Practices to your
  organizational context
• Educators / Academic Settings
• Develop informatics training programs for public
  health professionals
• Assure training is grounded in practice-based
  principles

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Implications for the Future

• Challenges
• We are just getting started a lot is new ground
• Need to leverage funding resources
• Create expanded models for delivery
• Develop curriculum framework for multiple
  audiences especially the workforce
• Determine the effect of certification

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Acknowledgements

• Public Health Informatics Institute
• Dave Ross Director
• Kris Saarlas Deputy director
• Laura Ripp Project manager, informatics
  leadership workshop
• Rhoda Nicholas, Utah Dept. of Health
• Aggie Leitheiser, Minnesota Dept. of Health

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Questions?Marty LaVentureMinnesota Department
of Healthwww.health.state.mn.usmartin.laventure_at_
health.state.mn.us612-590-0898
Thank You