How Public Health Agencies Can Leverage Data to Improve Community Health (Health Tech)

The national push to increase electronic health record adoption by healthcare providers has made data increasingly available to inform public health decisions. Access to both reliable and expedient information shared between partners enables disease surveillance, contact tracing, emergency response, home visits, chronic disease interventions and other core functions. This data adds clarity to existing interventions, automates back-office functions and enables advanced analytics.

Still, much of the focus on healthcare recently has shifted to encompass more than just clinical interactions. As reimbursement models arc toward value-based care, provider organizations are looking at upstream factors to incorporate the social determinants of health into their clinical workflow.

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