Twelfth Post for Public Health Situation Awareness

*Message from the BioSense Redesign Team

Dear BioSense Redesign Stakeholder:

Our twelfth post for the Public Health Situation Awareness topic has launched! Please take a moment to visit the BioSense Redesign site and answer the new questions* that explore support needs and elements of data exchange (i.e., messaging capabilities) with BioSense 2.0. The CDC will use your feedback to better understand how to tailor the new BioSense application. Your feedback is valuable to the redesign of the BioSense system and program.

Please visit the BioSense Redesign Collaboration Web Site to access questions at the Requirements Gathering Work Center or link directly to the questions at the PHSA Feedback Forum 12: Prepare to share data in BioSense 2.0 (Posted 10/12/2011).

If you’d like to contribute to a previous post, please click here to access archived questions.

Thank you,

The BioSense Redesign Team

*New questions are posted for comment on a weekly to biweekly basis. Check back often for updates and summaries of feedback posted by stakeholders.

CALL FOR PAPERS: International Public Health Journal 2012;4(3) Special issue

Message from Rosemary M. Caron, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor, University of New Hampshire

Dear Community-Engaged Scholarship Colleagues,

The International Public Health Journal intends to publish a special issue that addresses the following theme: Lessons learned in building community capacity to address persistent public health problems. This theme is intended for academicians and practitioners who work on persistent public health issues in diverse urban and/or rural communities across the globe so that evidence-based and practical solutions that have improved the health of their populations can be shared. These lessons may have come about as a result of surveillance, policy, collaborations, education, research, management and/or a combination thereof. Describe the unique community-based methods that you implemented to have a positive outcome on the public health issue(s) that affects your population of interest.

Manuscripts should be around 4,000 words in length and should be in the Vancouver style (http://www.icmje.org/index.html). Manuscripts are due no later than November 15, 2011 and should be sent electronically to the attention of Dr. Rosemary M. Caron, who is the guest editor for this special issue (Rosemary.Caron@unh.edu). Manuscripts from academic and community collaborators are encouraged. The expected publication of this special issue in the International Public Health Journal is July-September 2012.

The International Public Health Journal is a peer-reviewed Journal aimed at the scientific community interested in the broad area of public health. This Journal provides an international multidisciplinary forum with a holistic approach to public health issues, health and medicine, health and social policy, service aspects, developmental aspects, epidemiology, rehabilitation, family and social issues, quality of life, and all other aspects of public health over the whole age spectrum.

Electronic Health Records News Update

Adapted from Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Communication

Electronic Health Records and Quality of Care Study

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) recently published a study comparing care provided to diabetic patients in physician practices that use electronic health records (EHRs) versus physician practices that do not. The results indicate that practices that use EHRs -- especially in conjunction with collaborative efforts to improve quality -- delivered measurably better care than practices which rely on paper records.

Check out the Office of the National Coordinator's Buzz Blog for a blog by the study's lead author, Dr. Randall Cebul, which summarizes their findings.

New Frequently Asked Questions Available for BioSense 2.0!

Announcement from BioSense Redesign Team:

Though it’s time to say goodbye to summer, the BioSense Redesign Team is closing the summer out with a bang! We’ve kept our ear to the ground at recent public health conferences and workshops, and based on your feedback, we’ve developed a new resource to address questions like, “What will the new BioSense 2.0 do? How will it be different? or How will CDC use data contributed to BioSense 2.0?”

Our new Frequently Asked Questions or “FAQs” are designed to address the most common questions and concerns about BioSense 2.0, with topics ranging from the new environment to cloud and security issues and integration of meaningful use requirements.

Please take a moment to visit the Frequently Asked Questions on the BioSense Redesign Collaboration Site and share with your partners!

Workshop on Patient Privacy and Secondary Use of EHR Data

The National Center for Biomedical Computing iDASH (integrating Data for Analysis, Anonymization, and Sharing) and the Division of Biomedical informatics at UCSD are hosting a workshop on privacy technology on October 10-11, 2011. The workshop will assemble specialists in privacy technology, privacy policy and law, and secondary use of healthcare data to discuss technological approaches to preserving privacy, existing laws and regulations, and stakeholder concerns in biomedical data sharing. U.S. and international perspectives will be presented as participants discuss the fundamental challenges of establishing a secure, privacy-preserving environment in which researchers can analyze and share data.

Registration is free. Details about the agenda, registration, and logistics can be found here: http://idash.ucsd.edu/index.php/component/content/article/34/102-privacy-workshop

Message from BioSense Redesign Team

Dear BioSense Redesign Stakeholder:

A new post for the Public Health Situation Awareness topic has launched! Please take a moment to visit the BioSense Redesign site and answer the new questions* that explore elements of data exchange (i.e., current and preferred data formats and transport methods) with BioSense 2.0. The CDC will use your feedback to better understand how to tailor the new BioSense application. Your feedback is valuable to the redesign of the BioSense system and program.
Please visit the BioSense Redesign Collaboration Web Site to access questions at the Requirements Gathering Work Center or link directly to the questions at the Public Health Situation Awareness Feedback Forum 11: Data Exchange with BioSense 2.0 (posted 08/23/2011).

If you’d like to contribute to a previous post, please click here to access archived questions.

Thank you,

The BioSense Redesign Team

*New questions are posted for comment on a weekly to biweekly basis. Check back often for updates and summaries of feedback posted by stakeholders.

ISDS 10th Annual Conference Announcement

Building the Future of Public Health Surveillance
Sheraton Atlanta Hotel
Atlanta, GA

December 6 - 8, 2011

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last few weeks, we have heard from many ISDS 10th Annual Conference abstract submitters, and potential submitters, that the August abstract deadline has proven difficult for many to meet, due to the timing of seasonal vacations and other aspects of the summer schedule. In the interest of presenting the best conference possible and fully representing the work of the society membership, we have made the decision to significantly extend our abstract submission deadline.

For those of you who were able to complete and submit your abstract by the previously published deadlines, but felt rushed in doing so, please know that you will be able to modify and resubmit your abstracts through the ISDS abstract system (you can click on "return to draft" to edit your previously submitted abstract). For those of you contemplating a submission, we hope the deadline extension will provide sufficient opportunity for you to complete your submissions; unfortunately, no further extensions will be possible.

The new (and final) deadline for abstract submission is Sunday, September 11, 2011, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. The ISDS Abstract Submission site will reopen in the next few days.

Revised Key Dates:
Abstract submission deadline: September 11, 2011
Author notification of abstract acceptance: October 10, 2011
Early registration for the conference ends: October 24, 2011

Thank you very much, and we look forward to seeing you in Atlanta!

Best regards,

Karl Soetebier and Daniel Neill
Scientific Program Chairs
ISDS Annual Conference, 2011

Please click here for more information regarding abstract submission.

To stay up-to-date with all of the latest conference information, visit our Conference website.