Connections is a program of the Public Health Informatics Institute and is supported by the Genetic Services Branch of the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau (HRSA/MCHB).

News In Brief

CDC EHDI helps
Utah link systems
Through a grant from CDC's Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program, the Utah Department of Health is working with Utah State University (USU) to improve the follow-up screening rate for infants who fail the initial newborn hearing test. The CDC grant is helping USU and the health department link existing state databases, including Vital Records and Newborn Hearing Screening. The CDC/EHDI funding has been made available through a cooperative agreement of CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) with the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD).
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Hurricane Katrina prompts data sharing
Hurricane Katrina has highlighted the value of immunization registries and integrated child health information systems that provide vaccine records for displaced schoolchildren. In Louisiana, Scientific Technologies Corporation (STC) has been working with the Louisiana Immunization Network for Kids Statewide (LINKS) to establish data sharing with state and local registries around the country. At the end of October, LINKS was exchanging data via HL7 with nine registries and another 52 had view access. About 17,000 people had accessed their records using direct access to LINKS; more than 5,600 had used HL7 queries. Similar successes are reported in Mississippi and Alabama.
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Institute teams up
with NASCIO on
The Big Picture
The Public Health Informatics Institute, in cooperation with the National Association of State Chief Information Officers, has produced a topic brief that describes the "big picture" enterprise approach to developing comprehensive, cohesive public health information systems.
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Connections Feature

Lost but not forgotten
Integrated information systems
help improve referral and follow-up

Every state is required to screen its newborns for certain genetic conditions, such as PKU, to identify children who may need special health and social services. Although states have developed very effective newborn screening systems, every baby remains at risk of "falling through the cracks," that is, not having a screen conducted or not having a record of a screen's results in an accessible database.

A lack of basic health information can create obstacles for families, public health, and health care providers, who need to follow up on test results and offer appropriate referrals and care. Integrated databases and systems accessible through a common interface or portal help make referral and follow-up more efficient and effective. Many states are integrating the information systems for multiple child health programs, which improves their efficiency and effectiveness in providing follow-up and referral services to children with special needs.
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On Site With ...

Nancy Vanderburg, BSN, PHN
Public Health Policy Planner
Minnesota Department of Health

Our project – Newborn Screening Program and Data Integration – doesn't have a catchy name, but its benefits are far-reaching in Minnesota. Our goal at the health department is to expand and enhance the delivery of patient care and services to families. To that end, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Public Health Laboratory and the Title V programs of Maternal Child Health, Children with Special Health Care Needs are collaborating on sharing information. We're also exchanging data with the Mayo Clinic Biochemical Laboratory, the external lab that performs our tandem mass spectrometry testing.

These data integration efforts have improved the transmission of information between MDH, specialty care providers, and each child's medical home provider. Real-time data exchange between MDH, the Mayo labs, and specialty care centers has allowed more timely clinical decision-making. Since this tremendous improvement, the partners will never again accept the long delays we often experienced in data submission and exchange.

Developing a secure data transfer structure for sharing data has led to:

Decreasing false positives with second-tier testing.
Conveying results much more quickly.
Providing a seamless system of care for infants with positive blood spot screens.

For interactive communication, discussions, and follow-up between MDH, the Mayo labs, and specialty care providers, we're using QuickPlace, a commercial e-mail application. QuickPlace is secure and has greatly increased the speed of getting diagnostic and confirmatory results to specialists.

Minnesota has also incorporated care coordination into our program model as we work on data collection for long-term follow-up, family referral to services and resources, and specific indicators of clinical outcome for infants identified with genetic conditions.

For more information:
Contact: nancy.vanderburg@health.state.mn.us
Phone: (651) 281-9993
Web site: www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/mcshn/nbs.htm
Children with Special Health Needs program: www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/mcshn/mcshn.html
Maternal and Child Health programs: www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/mch/index.html

Meeting Highlights

Connections hits the road to Michigan

Members of the Connections community of practice are heading to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where the state department of health will host a site visit November 28 – December 1. Two representatives from health departments in each of 18 states and New York City will be on hand as Michigan presents a detailed look at its information systems integration project. Connections members will also continue their collaborative work on integrated child health information systems issues.
For more information, contact Lorrie Alvin at lalvin@phii.com

Eleventh Annual Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Conference
Making Methods and Practice Matter for
Women, Children, and Families
December 7–9, 2005
Wyndham Miami Hotel

MCH professionals will meet to share experiences, learn from their peers, and generate new ideas for improved MCH data use and informed policymaking.

Conference sessions and content are appropriate for health professionals working with maternal and child health data, programs, or policies at the national, state, tribal, and local levels.

The conference is sponsored by the CDC, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, the HRSA Maternal and Child Health Bureau, and CityMatCH.

Register at:
www.psava.com/mchepi2005/home.asp

View the preliminary conference brochure

About Connections
Connections -- a community of practice launched in Fall 2004 – assists state and local public health agencies to improve the health of children through the provision of accurate, timely, and comprehensive information and to strengthen the medical home.

Connections
Public Health Informatics Institute
750 Commerce Drive, Suite 400, Decatur, GA 30030
TEL: 1.866.815.9704 FAX: 1.800.765.7520
www.phii.org/
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