April 25, 2017

NYC Macroscope, EHRs and population health surveillance

Over a year ago, Dr. David Ross mentioned the NYC Macroscope project to Piper and me, and I’ve wanted to record a podcast episode about it ever since. I think NYC Macroscope caught my attention because it leverages data that already exist in electronic health records (EHRs) for population health surveillance. For many chronic conditions, survey data currently serve as the “gold standard” for public health surveillance.

March 21, 2017

Mark Conde on data quality, informatics degrees and how technology shapes public health practice

At the Public Health Informatics Institute (PHII), we often say that public health informatics is where business processes, people and technology meet to support improved health outcomes. (You can even hear Vivian Singletary, PHII’s Director, give this soundbite in the podcast opening. We really do say it a lot!) But how do people learn about business processes and technology, and how are these disciplines shaping public health practice?

February 21, 2017

The storied career of Dr. Alan Hinman

This month, the Task Force for Global Health is celebrating the retirement of Dr. Alan Hinman, who has spent more than 50 years working in the field of public health. We here at Inform Me, Informatics want to participate in the celebration, and we’re excited to bring you this conversation with Alan. His career spans domestic and international projects, and has largely been devoted to a vision of a world without vaccine-preventable diseases.

January 25, 2017

How to explain informatics to your friends and family

Have you ever had a hard time explaining your job to friends and family? Did this experience lead you to wonder why public health informatics is so hard to talk about? Well, it turns out that many professionals—not just public health informaticians—have a hard time explaining the ins and outs of their work.

December 15, 2016

Whatcom County’s journey toward becoming an informatics-savvy health department

After undergoing the accreditation process in 2014, the Whatcom County Health Department had renewed interest in and commitment to being data-driven. But what did that mean, exactly? Strategic planning activities highlighted opportunities to use data for decision-making, but how could this health department get the right information to the right people at the right time?