 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
|
| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Ellen Wild, MPH and S. Nicole Fehrenbach, MPP. Center for Innovation in Health Information Systems, 750 Commerce Drive, Suite 400, Decatur, GA 30030
Background/Theoretical Basis: In 2000, the Taskforce for Newborn Screening stated, “improved coordination and integration of information systems is needed.” HRSA awarded 17 states planning and development grants to integrate newborn screening systems with other public health information systems. The Center for Innovation in Health Information Systems, with contract support from HRSA, conducted intensive 2-day face-to-face interviews with seven states to identify and describe best practices in integrating newborn screening information with other early childhood health information systems.
Objective: To identify and understand critical factors, best practices and lessons learned for planning and implementing an integrated information system.
Procedures: The Center for Innovation organized the site visits around nine key elements considered critical to the success of an information systems integration project. The key elements are not technical but rather are crosscutting organizational considerations that are critical to success for an integration project, regardless of its scope or focus. The nine key elements are: leadership, project governance, project management, stakeholder involvement, organizational and technical strategy, technical support and coordination, financial support and management, policy support, and evaluation. The site visits were structured to gather consistent information across sites, yet allow flexibility in dealing with the unique nature of each grantee.
Implications for Practice: We present overarching conclusions that states and government agencies should bear in mind as they consider implementing health information systems integration projects and examples of best practices as demonstrated by seven state health departments.
Learning Objectives:
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.