Public health departments provide a surveillance function pertaining to the health status of people within their geographic area, such as a city, county, or state. Large public health databases host information on the incidence and prevalence of diseases: outbreaks of influenza, high-risk populations, survival and morbidity statistics, and the trends in diseases seen over time.
Public health departments can work with primary care providers to improve management of communicable diseases and chronic diseases. As more public health departments and physician offices adopt electronic health records technology, sharing and utilizing health information to support population health initiatives will become more effective.
Read the following article, located in the CSU Library:
Strengthening Public Health and Primary Care Collaboration through Electronic Health Records
After reading this article, respond to these questions:
- Describe how the use of informatics in public health will support surveillance and management of communicable diseases and chronic diseases.
- In your own geographic area, what health promotion or prevention initiatives is your public health department involved in?
