Case Surveillance Modernization

Overview

This page provides information to state, tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) health departments about what CDC is doing to modernize technologies, infrastructure, and policies for exchanging case surveillance data and how health departments can work with CDC to develop and refine successful strategies.

Reducing burden to enable action

Long-standing challenges with the case data exchange pipeline have made it difficult for public health professionals and healthcare providers to focus their time and resources on taking action to save lives and protect people. Many extremely dedicated public health workers across the country have found creative, ad-hoc solutions to meet their day-to-day needs. However, short-term solutions are not enough. To achieve lasting change, public health needs a common vision of the future and a clear plan to enact that vision.

As part of our vision for public health data, CDC is working together with public health professionals from STLT health departments; tribal epidemiology centers; and national partners to co-create a future where public health professionals, healthcare providers, and the public can get the right data for the right action at the right time.

Here are some of the ways CDC is working across public health to modernize case data exchange:

• Design and implement the future of case data exchange through the Case Service Design initiative to help public health professionals get the data they need to inform public health action.

• Modernize the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System by improving performance and adding flexibility to the Message Validation, Processing, and Provisioning System, streamlining message mapping guide onboarding, and offering new tools for data analytics and visualization.

• Automate the exchange of data between electronic health records and public health agencies with electronic case reporting.

• Implement the minimal data necessary for case data to support effective public health emergency response and help public health officials to get essential information needed for action quickly with less strain on the time and resources of health departments and healthcare providers.

• Standardize core case data elements in close collaboration with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologist's Data Standardization Work Group to improve interoperability and public health's ability to exchange, interpret and use data as well as save time during public health emergencies.

• Streamline reporting pathways for health departments by creating one front door to send data to CDC.

• Increase data exchange capacity at health departments by providing direct funding; recruiting 140 technical experts to strengthen the public health data workforce; and offering technical, policy, and logistics support through data modernization implementation centers in collaboration with national partners.

Creating the future of case data exchange together

Advancing data for public health action requires us all to work together toward a common vision. CDC needs your help to develop and refine successful strategies that put people at the center of the modernization process. Here's what health departments can do:

• Email ophdst@cdc.gov for more information about creating the future of case surveillance.

• Subscribe to Case Surveillance News for quarterly news and updates relevant to public surveillance and informatics professionals working with case data.

• Join CDC's monthly eSHARE webinars to learn about various case data projects across public health and connect with other health departments and CDC.