The COVID-19 pandemic and other health threats have shown that access to actionable, timely, accurate and equitably representative health data is critical in preventing and protecting people from disease and health threats. However, governmental public health has traditionally lacked the resources to plug into modern, secure tools to move information faster. Now, there is a national effort to create more integrated and timely public health data systems that can better protect our nation and world from threats. On February 27 and 28, 2023, the CDC Foundation will convene a joint event with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) with the objective to accelerate public health data modernization through public private partnerships.
Addressing health challenges requires bringing together cross-sector groups, and the CDC Foundation’s CDC-ONC Industry Days event will inform non-government organizations about CDC’s and ONC’s plans for modernizing public health data and information systems. The event also will provide both virtual and in-person attendees with opportunities to discuss their services with CDC and ONC staff.
“We need collaboration from businesses, health care, academia, community organizations, and all sectors to build an efficient, integrated and comprehensive approach to improving our nation’s public health data,” said Judy Monroe, MD, president and CEO of the CDC Foundation. “These partnerships open new pathways for technology, people and policies to gather and analyze data. The resulting intelligence will improve health and assure thriving and prosperous communities.”
The purpose of this event is to:
- Hear from CDC and ONC leaders about the vision for public health data modernization and the value of multi-sector partnerships;
- Inform industry about CDC’s and ONC’s strategic direction in use of data and information systems, and about the highest priority areas in which they are seeking support;
- Provide forums for government and industry to discuss services and priorities (including networking opportunities, exhibits and presentation, and sessions with Q&As);
- Increase opportunities for CDC and ONC to work with and learn from industry; and
- Provide opportunities to hear from industry partners on their compatible capabilities, tools and services.
“COVID-19 emphasized the need to have reliable, actionable data in near real time to ensure the delivery of rapid and equitable health care during a pandemic,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH. “I am committed, as part of the agency’s moving forward initiative, to modernizing CDC’s data systems and am looking forward to hearing from our public- and private-sector partners. We should all have the same goal; ensuring that public health data systems are sufficiently designed to swiftly collect actionable data that informs recommendations to protect all Americans from health threats.” Read the full press release here.