The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) developed an information infrastructure for use by State and local health and health care providers through its cooperative agreements with CDC's INPHO and HAN projects. The HIN technical infrastructure allows State and local health departments (LHDs) to rapidly and securely exchange health data and provides secure outbound access to the Internet. The HIN support infrastructure provides training and cooperative partnerships with local health, promoting participation and a sense of co-ownership. The HIN infrastructure supports a wide range of applications, including an electronic disease reporting system. The NYSDOH has also developed a disease outbreak problem alert system, which allows the state to post information for immediate distribution. In September 1999, the state was faced with an outbreak of West Nile Virus (WNV) in and around New York City. The existing HIN infrastructure allowed state and local health to respond to the need for rapid and secure dissemination of information such as emergency bulletins, protocols, GIS products, surveillance, PSAs, human case and lab information. These items were posted on specialized access regions of the HIN web, allowing precision control over access. County DOH staff, proficient in the HIN, readily adapted to using it as the location for timely information. Thousands of connects to these products were registered throughout the emergency. As the outbreak evolved, many counties requested new accounts for their staff and postings of their own county-specific information. HIN infrastructure proved to be a reliable and timely resource for information in a health emergency.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participants will (1) develop an understanding of how the HIN was used during the West Nile Virus outbreak, (2) learn about the benefits of the infrastructure and (3) learn strategies and technologies used in developing the infrastructure
Keywords: Information Technology, Infrastructure
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.