Leveraging the cancer surveillance experience in IHE to promote EHR reporting for public health

Background: Cancer surveillance is a key to identifying health disparities and is one of the cornerstones of cancer treatment and cancer control decision-making. As a public health program that relies on clinical information to meet its objectives, among which are the reduction of disparities among vulnerable populations (e.g., older adults, minorities, children, etc.), it is critical that the cancer surveillance community participate in and implement processes that take advantage of the rapid changes in electronic health information technology. Purpose: This presentation will explain the role of cancer surveillance in public health and its connection to e-health initiatives; identify concepts and processes in Integrateing the Health Enterprise (IHE)that are important for public health profiles; and explain how existing IHE profiles and transactions can be used in new public health profiles. Methods: Cancer Registries are actively participating in the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) to establish international implementation guidelines for reporting cancer cases to public health repositories. Based on the HL7 standard for transmitting healthcare data, these implementations promote the use of electronic medical record (EMR) and electronic health record (EHR)reporting from clinical settings. Conclusions: Use of existing IHE implementation profiles for the EMR provides an effective means for public health practitioners and facilities to enhance their reporting processes. Through its 3-year participation in IHE, the cancer surveillance community's experience can inform other public health programs on the utility of, and challenges with, interacting within the national e-health initiative.