1. Class, as you read about data sources this week, consider the following questions. How your local or state health department does utilize surveillance systems? Do you feel that health department effectively uses the information from the surveillance systems to develop prevention strategies and inform the community of emerging health threats? Why or why not?
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2. Class, this chapter provided some great information on electronic health records (EHRs). After reading this chapter, share your thoughts on how EHRs can benefit population health. Also, I thought this was a great question that was included in the text, “what are some critical success factors for EHR implementation and unintended consequences of inserting information technology into healthcare workflows?” Feel free to discuss.
3. This is a great post. There is an entire department at CDC that works on genomics so this has been identified as a very important population health issue. There are efforts going on now to assess the implications for extending genetic screening beyond newborns. Although genetic testing is available and may be beneficial, there is a need for better oversight and credible information about its usefulness. Below is a link to a blog post titled “Can we use genetic screening of healthy populations to save lives and prevent disease?” I found the post and the comments to be very insightful about genetic testing.
4. Class, CDC WONDER is a great resource that provides access to data for several public health issues. In addition to AIDS, Cancer, and birth data from it also provides an easy link to US Census data on population predictions. Take a look at the CDC WONDER website and choose a data set to review. How do you think a tool like this can be helpful for public health workers?
5. Why should health care managers use available federal, state, and local sources of population health data for planning?