Data Modernization Initiative Project Planning

Updated: July, 2024

Public health depends on widespread and rapid access to data to drive decisions. The goal of the Data Modernization Initiative (DMI) is to move from siloed public health data systems to a connected, resilient, adaptable, and sustainable “response ready” data ecosystem that can help us solve problems before they happen and reduce the harm caused by the problems that do happen.

Modernization is not just for outbreaks and pandemics. Better data on non-infectious diseases and conditions — birth defects, cancer, opioids, suicides, and more — are critical to the wellbeing of everyone.

To address these challenges, Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is working to:

Align its internal structure to support systems and data modernization,
Assess the current state and gaps of its data ecosystem, and
Develop a plan to address current gaps

About DMI

History and background

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) works with others to protect and improve the health of all people in Washington State with equity and optimal health for everyone. However, chronic underfunding has prevented the state from keeping up with technology. The agency uses approximately 50 surveillance data systems, each developed independently over many years, largely in response to prescriptive funding requirements. This has led to duplicative data structures, data formats, data standards, legacy systems processes, and protocols.

Collaboration and innovation

The Center for Data Modernization and Informatics is forging and fostering partnerships with those who have worked with the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) in the past and newer ones who have only begun engaging so that the health ecosystem is harnessing the strength of our collective effort to improve health. Our shared commitment to health and well-being is the foundation for future collaboration.

We will do this by working closely with state, local, tribal, and territorial partners to ensure transparency, address policy challenges, and solve problems together.

Funding

In August 2021, CDC awarded $200M from the CARES Act to share among eligible state, territorial, and local public jurisdictions to build foundational data capabilities, accelerate electronic case reporting, and modernize vital statistics systems.

Congress dedicates $100M in FY 2022 and $175M in FY 2023 to modernize public health data surveillance and analytics at CDC and state and local health departments.

Equity and justice

The Center for Data and Systems Modernization will demonstrate the agency's commitment to transforming the health of communities while also addressing health inequities that this pandemic has laid bare. By ensuring equity, fairness, and justice principles are embedded in our activities, we will seek impactful and measurable solutions to often complex and historically rooted issues that are preventing equitable access to health and health care alike.

Expected Outcomes

Significant investment in modernizing our disease surveillance and health information systems will produce a public health community that leverages timely, relevant, and actionable data and intelligence to fulfill mission objectives and achieve long-term outcomes as established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in DMI Roadmap of Activities and Expected Outcomes.

Public Health can rapidly identify and effectively mitigate emerging threats
Trusted data promotes evidence-based behaviors, interventions, and solutions to protect health
Every American has the opportunity to attain the highest level of health possible
All people have the right information at the right time to make decisions
Our country is better prepared for, and protected from, all types of public health threats

Glossary of acronyms

Acronym	Definition
APHL	Association of Public Health Laboratories
AIMS	APHL Informatics Message Services
CEDAR	Cloud Environment for Data Analytics and Reporting
DMLC	Data Modernization Learning Community
DMI	Data Modernization Initiative
DSTT	Data Science Training Team
eCR	Electronic Case Reporting
EHR	Electronic Health Records
eICRs	Electronic Initial Case Reports
EIS	Epidemic Intelligence Service
ELR	Enterprise Laboratory Reporting
Epi-Aids	Epidemiologic Assistance
ETOR	Electronic Test Order and Results
FPHS	Foundational Public Health Services
HL7	Health Level Seven International
Info-Aids	Informatics Assistance
LHJ	Local Health Jurisdiction
LIMS	Laboratory Information Management System
MOOC	Massive Open Online Courses
MPI	Master Person Index
NBS	Newborn Screening
NCHS	National Center for Health Statistics
NNDSS	National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System
NVSS	National Vital Statistics System
OIT	Office of Innovation and Technology
OSP	Office of Strategic Partnership
PHF	Public Health Foundation
PHL	Public Health Laboratory
RCKMS	Reportable Conditions Knowledge Management System
REDCap	Research Electronic Data Capture
RR	Reportability Responses
SMART	Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound
TA	Technical Assistance
WFD	Workforce Development
WSALPHO	Washington State Association of Local Public Health Officials

Timeline

Note: Like many projects, timelines are estimates and may adjust due to unanticipated changes. DMI Timeline (PDF)

Completed Milestones	Date
Respiratory Disease Dashboard replaced COVID-19 Dashboard	November 2023
Completed listening sessions with academic partners about data sharing process	November 2023
Launched GIS newsletter	September 2023
Released data visualization style guide and palette	July 2023
DMI workforce development website launched	April 2023
Opioid data dashboards launched	March 2023
Enterprise GIS portal launched	January 2023
Initial cloud migration complete	March 2020
Master Person Index (MPI) project kicked-off	January 2021
CEDAR project kicked-off	January 2021
Implemented Master Person Index (MPI) matching capability for WDRS	February 2022
Data Modernization Initiative (DMI) gap analysis complete	April 2022
Center for Data Modernization and Informatics established	July 2022
Data and Systems Workforce Training Pilot kick off	August 2022

Current DMI projects

Projects

DSCM: Explore opportunities to modernize disease surveillance and case management tools and processes. Phase one involves conducting a feasibility study to evaluate solutions for replacing two systems: WDRS and PHIMS-STD.

Goal: Enhance disease surveillance capabilities, streamline case management processes, and support a more integrated approach to public health data management.

POLST Planning: The first phase of this project includes conducting an environmental scan with multiple partners. The results will provide the information needed to implement a Portable Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form and statewide registry.

Goal: Determine how to automate the POLST form and create a statewide registry to ensure all patients are treated in accordance with their wishes.

Data Visualization: Focuses on creating guidance and data visualization products for interactive dashboards to make them more inclusive and understandable for diverse audiences.

Goal: Ensure the public understands the data we are sharing.

Data Governance: This team is working with public health leaders to define and maintain shared data practices that maximize the value of public health data for public health purposes.

Goal: Bring together public health leaders to define and maintain shared data practices for improved transparency, collaboration, and informed decision-making

Data Democratization: This team is working to identify and eliminate data sharing bottlenecks and provide guidance to help the agency communicate data in a way that is easily accessible and understood by the public.

Goal: Streamline data sharing with external partners.

Electronic Case Reporting (eCR): Electronic Case Reporting automatically and securely transmits information from individual electronic health records to DOH, eliminating the need for manual transmission. By providing more complete and accurate data in near real time, eCRs improves clinical care, supports disease monitoring, and reduces the burden for healthcare providers.

Goal: Capture critical clinical and demographic data in a more efficient and timely way.

DMI Workforce Development Web Site (pilot project): The Public Health Data Science Learning Center, launched in April 2023, offers free training, quarterly webinars, and resources to support public health professionals, helping to develop systemwide expertise to leverage new technologies.

Goal: Ensure employees have the necessary skills for current and future technologies.

Cloud Informatics: Public health uses science and technology to systematically apply information, computer science, and technology to translate the different types and sources of data for professionals working in diverse fields and settings.

Goal: Addressing public health data challenges so that epidemiologists can use our resources effectively.

Master Person Index: Our first MPI implementation automated consolidation of multiple copies of the same lab record for a person.

Goal: Automate process for improved accuracy and timeliness.

Enterprise GIS: Geographic Information System (GIS) is a centralized, intelligent, integrated system that combines spatial information to help us understand data within a defined geographic location. In January 2023, DOH launched the Enterprise GIS platform GeoHUB for internal DOH staff. Eventually, this will allow us to enhance information and data we share with LHJs and tribal partners.

Goal: Improve our ability to visualize, analyze, interpret, and share geographic data.

Electronic Lab Reporting (ELR): ELR is the electronic transmission of laboratory reports that identify notifiable conditions from laboratories to public health. DOH’s ELR system provides data to public health disease investigators across the state via the state disease surveillance system.

Goal: Ensure timely, accurate, and complete data for mission critical case investigation, contact tracing, and disease surveillance.

Future Innovations: Work continues on a DOH Innovation project that focuses on chronic disease surveillance data modernization. This project involves working with state healthcare system partners to develop a cooperatively governed secure platform for private-public data sharing.Goal: Allow healthcare partners and public health professionals access to timely, actionable chronic disease outcome information.

News and updates

Subscribe to the DOH Digest

To receive regular updates about DMI projects, subscribe to DOH Digest by emailing DOHDigest@doh.wa.gov.

Local health jurisdictions can email the Regional Health Office Team at RHOTeam@doh.wa.gov.
Tribal health partners can reach out to DOHTribalRelations@doh.wa.gov .

Articles about the Data Modernization Initiative at DOH

FAQs

Why is modernizing public health data important?

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for a high-speed, modernized public health data infrastructure. When people’s lives are on the line, connected and integrated data helps public health put the pieces together faster and take action to protect health. Years of underinvestment in public health have led to systems that are siloed, outdated, and incompatible, and data that are delayed and incomplete. One result is that many places in America are underserved by public health. We must use the lessons learned in this moment to create systems that will help us respond to both infectious and non-infectious threats—and improve the health of all people.

Why does data modernization matter?

We need state, local, and federal public health to have rapid access to actionable data.

Data drives decisions in public health. The data public health provides are critical not only to respond to COVID-19, but for finding and fixing the full spectrum of health challenges our nation faces. However, years of under-investment in our data have led to many places in Washington state that remain underserved by public health. We are at a critical turning point— an “all hands-on deck” moment when we must transform how we collect, use, and share data locally, statewide, and nationally.

What is the federal government doing to help modernize public health data?

We started with the first-ever Congressional support dedicated specifically to data modernization. At the national level, the CDC is unifying its data at and supporting policies that make data sharing easier.
In Washington state, we are working alongside healthcare partners, including vendors, hospitals, and others across the private sector, to make sure the solutions we develop include insights and feedback from our partners. We’ve also engaged with innovation partners across academia and research who are supporting our work.

How does DMI support health equity in our state?

DMI is focusing on the potential of data to empower effective decision-making at the local level and to produce positive health outcomes, not only to stop diseases but to create wellness. We are committed to gathering evidence using true and transparent methods, and to listening to our partners and communities at every step. Recommendations from the National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems - RWJF

Who will data modernization projects impact?

Data modernization will impact every entity that provides surveillance data to the Washington State Department of Health, including hospitals, laboratories, healthcare providers, local health jurisdictions, medical examiners, coroners, schools, colleges and universities, health clinics, pharmacies, and some community based organizations.