Public Health and Clinical Laboratories require flexible data management solutions to advance the development of efficient and integrated surveillance systems at federal, state and local levels especially in the event of a terrorist attack. These solutions must support electronic reporting requirements.

The Public Health Service was founded in 1912 with a mission of promoting health in our nation and the world. The PHS is a principal part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the major health agency of the Federal Government.

In order to fulfill its very broad mission of promoting health in our nation and the world, the PHS has designed programs and created agencies which help control and prevent diseases; conduct and fund biomedical research that will eventually lead to better treatment and prevention of diseases; protect us against unsafe food, drugs, and medical devices; improve mental health and deal with drug and alcohol abuse; expand health resources; and, provide health care to people in medically underserved areas. As you can imagine there is a great deal of testing that is associated with the public health service and associated results or information that is collected. Whether it is testing for sexually transmitted diseases, environmental monitoring, genetic screening for metabolic defects or monitoring communicable diseases the various public health laboratories generate significant amounts of information. It is important that these laboratories can communicate with each other as well as other government agencies that analyze the data and monitor trends. LIMS play an integral role in the management of data across divisions and departments, enhancing communication and allowing historical data analysis. In response to this need, the agency developed the initiative to promote data sharing.

The National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS) is an initiative that promotes the use of data and information system standards to advance the development of efficient, integrated, and interoperable surveillance systems at federal, state and local levels.

This initiative is designed to:

• Facilitate the electronic transfer of appropriate information from clinical information systems in the health care industry to public health departments.
• Reduce provider burden in the provision of information.
• Enhance both the timeliness and quality of information provided.

Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) play an integral role in achieving the goals of the Public Health Service. They allow the laboratory to work with the community and other agencies to rapidly identify any potential outbreaks or factors that may facilitate an outbreak. Poor laboratory data, weak management, and ineffective communication with the various departments could result in an unproductive, unorganized laboratory with poor data quality at the best and unnecessary morbidity or mortality at the worst.

With years of data management experience, ATL Project Managers and Data Specialists can help your laboratory:

• Perform a needs assessment of your current data management system/s.
• Provide you with a guidance document, specifically for your operations (following an on-site assessment) and identify tools or processes which should be implemented to assist you in addressing the regulatory requirements (HIPPA, NEDSS, HL7, CAP, CLIA, and others).
• Validate your data management solution.
• Incorporate practical solutions to ensure that vital data are being captured and provided to those that require the information to make decisions in real time.