Senate Bill Would Modernize Public Health IT Infrastructure

June 13, 2019 - A bipartisan Senate bill introduced this week would invest $100 million per year in modernizing the public health IT infrastructure in the United States.

The Saving Lives Through Better Data Act, introduced by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), and Angus King (I-ME), would expand public health data sharing among agencies and boost system interoperability.

“Our public health data systems are stuck in the past, hurting our ability to respond quickly to dangerous health threats and crises like the opioid epidemic. There is an opportunity to improve information sharing across these data systems, health care providers, and health officials at the state, local, and federal levels in order to improve care, save lives, and better confront the public health threats that we face today,” said Kaine.

Specifically, the bill would earmark $100 million per year through fiscal year 2024 to do the following:

• Award grants to public health departments to improve data collection and analysis, simplify provider reporting, and support earlier disease detection and response
• Improve interoperability of public health data systems utilized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Develop public-private partnerships to support expansion and modernization of electronic case reporting and public health data systems
• Develop a strategy and implementation plan to update and improve CDC’s public health data systems and support improvement of state, local, tribal, and territorial public health data systems

“The United States is behind the curve on the collection and modernization of public health data that could improve health and even save lives,” said Isakson. “The Saving Lives Through Better Data Act will help public health agencies like the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention improve tracking, data-sharing and reporting on public health threats through eliminating wasteful duplication, enhancing public-private partnerships, and other avenues to improve and modernize care in the 21st century.”

Added King: “By increasing investments and improving communication across our nation’s public health infrastructure, we can improve health outcomes for the American people and prepare our healthcare system to tackle new threats as they come. Put simply: this legislation would save lives.”