Greetings!
This is such an exciting time for HIIT. We have had the opportunity to participate in the formulation of national policy and educational initiatives that will drive the direction of IT for improved health outcomes for the global community.
Did you know that your participation in HIIT could have such an impact on so many lives? Well, keep reading to see what you have done so far this year. Your support has helped HIIT to continue to carry out its mission in support of APHA and the public through the following:
· A purposeful strategic plan that keeps HIIT focussed on its direction, and aligns itself with APHA goals.
· Strong and focussed leaders who are proactive in their SPIG management roles.
· Participation in the formulation of key APHA policy recommendations.
· The implementation of exceptional program sessions for the 2009 APHA Annual Meeting.
· Innovative education initiatives in the form of an upcoming online journal and learning initiatives for future IT leaders.
· Continuing, and effective, community outreach initiatives for our stakeholders.
· A great newsletter to keep everyone abreast of what HIIT is doing.
· An expanding membership base that will lead us toward Section status within APHA so we can accomplish more for you and the public.
· Coming soon! The opportunity to further communicate with you and others, interactively, through APHA’s eCommunities feature.
· Coming soon! A reconstructed Web site that will pull it all together – for you! www.pubhiit.org
There is nothing else that I can say except, thank you for helping HIIT to be a productive and innovative force in public health.
We look forward to seeing you in Philadelphia in November during the 137th APHA Annual Meeting!
Sincerely,
Sandy Worrell, Chair
Health Informatics & Information Technology Special Primary Interest Group of
APHA
From Nov. 7-11, 2009, thousands of public health professionals will convene in Philadelphia for the APHA 137th Annual Meeting and Exposition. More than 1,000 cutting-edge scientific sessions will be presented by public health researchers, academicians, policy-makers and practitioners on the most current public health issues facing the nation today. To ensure that no public health professional misses this opportunity, this year’s Annual Meeting will be more affordable than ever. Hotel rates have been slashed so that no rates are higher than $195. Eleven of the 15 contracted hotels are offering rates between $149 and $179. Registration and Housing are now open. Save up to $115 on registration by registering before August 28. Take advantage of these discounts and join your colleagues in a meeting you won’t want to miss. For more information about the Annual Meeting and the role your SPIG will play in its success, visit www.apha.org/meinetings!
Public Health CareerMart -- Over 1,000 Jobs Listed!
APHA has created the Public Health CareerMart to be the online career resource center in the field of public health. Here, you’ll find only qualified, industry professionals.
Job Seekers, instead of searching through hundreds of sites looking for the perfect jobs in public health, you will find it all at the Public Health CareerMart Career Development Center at www.apha.org/about/careers.
Employers, instead of being inundated with stacks of unrelated, irrelevant resumes, you’re much more likely to find the candidates with the skills and experience you’re looking for — and spend less time doing it! After all, where better to find the best public health professionals than the association that represents them?
Public Health CareerMart is a member of the National Healthcare Career Network.
Help Make America the Healthiest Nation in One Generation
Let’s face it – as a nation we’re not nearly as healthy as we should be. Compared to other developed nations, we’re lagging far behind. But it doesn’t have to be this way. With your help, we can make America the healthiest nation in just one generation.
As a central component of this year’s National Public Health Week (NPHW) observance, APHA launched an exciting, new viral video campaign. The Healthiest Nation in One Generation video tells the story of the many ways that public health touches our lives. Nearly 25,000 people have already viewed the video online, and the numbers continue to grow each day. If you haven’t checked out the video, watch it today and be sure to share it with your colleagues, family and friends. And stay informed by visiting www.generationpublichealth.org – NPHW 2009 is over, but our campaign to make America the healthiest nation in one generation is just beginning…
We all have to do our part. What will you do?
APHA Survey Request
A
PHA wants to know your opinion on whether you would use an online version of the "Control of Communicable Diseases Manual." Help us by taking a survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=53858582nfNS699PLteHvg_3d_3d. We appreciate your input.
APHA Policy Process and the Role of Health Informatics & Information Technology (HIIT)
Jiunn-Jye Sheu MSPH, PhD, CHES
Chair, HIIT Policy Committee
Vice-Chair, HIIT
Overview of the APHA Policy Process
APHA represents more than 50 disciplines in public health and related fields, and has many motivated members and staff who work closely with members of Congress, agencies at all levels and other public health organizations to ensure that public health is a priority in the legislative and policy-making process. APHA is also frequently consulted by governmental agencies, news media, corporations, and non-profit organizations for the scientific opinions for certain public health problems/issues. APHA constantly runs a policy system to have its policies and position statements on various public health issues prepared for the publication in The Nation’s Health newspaper.
HIIT is the information technology unit of APHA and plays a significant role in the nation’s health information technology (IT) development. APHA has identified the policy gaps for 2009. The nation’s public health and IT is listed on the priority list among related fields. HIIT members are encouraged to participate in the policy process as APHA policies do have long-range impact on the public health of the country or even the world.
The policy development process is open to full participation of the members to ensure careful review by appropriate APHA boards, committees and other membership entities. The policy process has two major components:
(1) Proposing new policies/position statements and archiving the existing policies; and
(2) the Policy Committee of HIIT is responsible to call for, review, and make recommendations to the proposed new and archiving policies/position statements in the area of health information technology from its members. APHA accepts new policies all year long and encourages members to submit their proposed policies and/or position statements to their prospective Section/SPIG/Forum/Caucus. The due date for new proposed policies/position statements is usually in early February, while May is for the archiving policies/position statements.
Update-New policy & position statements received in 2009
8 in Health Disparities/International Health,
6 in Environmental Health,
6 in Access to Care; and
6 in Public Health Science and Infrastructure
Update-Major categories for policy archiving received in 2009
9 policies in Immigrant Health,
26 in Unintentional Injury; and
36 in International/Global Health. The HIIT Policy Committee reviewed: The Need for Universal EHR & Public Health Information Systems Based on Open Source Code. Members are encouraged to propose new policies/position statements as early as possible.
How You Can Get Involved in the Policy Proposal & Archiving Process
The APHA Joint Policy Committee (JPC) will hold public hearings for the proposed new and archiving policies and position statements during the 137th Annual Meeting & Exposition in Philadelphia from Nov. 7-11, 2009:
· Sessions 257.0; 258.0; 259.0; and 260.0 will be held on Nov. 8 from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. The meeting room will be indicated on the annual conference program. All members are welcome to attend these sessions. Detailed policies/position statements can be found on APHA’s Web site.
· Latebreaking proposed new policies will be accepted until Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. (EST) to policy@apha.org in electronic format. Members who did not catch the regular deadline are welcome to submit. If you have any question and/or want to join the HIIT Policy Committee and the Health Informatics Information Technology Special Primary Interest Group of APHA, please feel free to contact Dr. Jiunn-Jye Sheu, chair of the Policy Committee, at jjsheu@hhp.ufl.edu or (352)391-0583, ext 1310.
For details related to the policy process, visit http://www.apha.org/advocacy/policy/. This Web site requires your APHA login ID and password. You may retrieve them by clicking on the "Member login" located on the top right of the APHA Web site.
Upcoming Events
Association of State and Territorial Health Organizations (ASTHO)
Oct. 13-16, 2009
http://www.astho.org/?template=2009_astho_annual_meeting.html
Vienna, Va.
HIIT 2009 Officers
Chair
Sandra Worrell, MS (Chair, 2009-2010) - sandraworrell@sbcglobal.net
University of Connecticut
(203) 367-5660 (H);(203) 551-3008 (W)
Founder and Chair Emeritus
Diane L. Adams, MD, MPH, CHS-III - dla8315@aol.com
Former Senior Health Policy Fellow & Consultant to the Georgia Centers for Advanced Telecommunications Technology (now known as Center for Advanced Communications Policy)
(301) 570-0387
Chair-Elect
Christopher Williams, MPH, CPEHR,CPHIT cwilliams@lhcr.org
Louisiana Health Care Review, Inc.
Vice-Chair
Jiunn-Jye Sheu, PhD, MSPH, CHES - jjsheu@hhp.ufl.edu
University of Florida
Secretary
Tracy Hilliard (PhD Student) - tmhill@u.washington.edu
University of Washington-Seattle
Treasurer
Anjelious P. Farmer, MBA - anjelious@yahoo.com
IBM Software Services for Federal Practice
Parliamentarian
Polly S. Turner, DrPH, MPH - pollyrx@aol.com
President, PS Turner Health Administration Consultants
HIIT Governing Council Representative
Brenda A. Leath, MHSA bal757@verizon.net
National Consortium for African American Children, Inc., Westat
HIIT 2009 Committee Chairs/Co-Chairs
Alphabetical Order by Category
Awards Chair - Alex Charleston - aac4@cdc.gov
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Community Outreach Chair
Brenda Leath, MHSA bal757@verizon.net
National Consortium for African American Children, Inc., Westat
Education and Research Chair
Dr. Edward Mensah
dehasnem@uic.edu
University of Illinois – Chicago
Finance Chair
Anjelious P. Farmer, MBA anjelious@yahoo.com
IBM Software Services for Federal Practice
Membership Chair (Interim)
Diane L. Adams, MD, MPH, CHS-III dla8315@aol.com
(301) 570-0387; and Christopher Williams (Student Liaison/Student Assembly) - cwilliams@lhcr.org
Marketing & Public Relations Chair
Donald George djgeorge@mindspring.com
PRISM Communication Systems, Inc.
Nominating Chair
Gloria McNeil, BSN, RN gloriamcneil@sbcglobal.net
Community Health Nurse Consultant
Photography/Archives Chair – Open
Policy Chair
Dr. Jiunn-Jye Sheu
jjsheu@hhp.ufl.edu
University of Florida
Co-Chair - Dr. Ramesh Krishnamurthy - eng0@cdc.gov
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Program Planners Co-Chairs
(a)Co-Chair
Byron Sogie-Thomas, MS
bsogie-thomas@nmanet.org
National Medical Association
(b)Co-Chair
Dr. Diane L. Adams
dla8315@aol.com
Strategic Planning Chair
Su-I Hou, DrPH, RN, CHES
shou@uga.edu
University of Georgia
Webmasters for APHA
Christopher Williams
cwilliams@lhcr.org
Dr. Diane L. Adams
dla8315@aol.com
Advisory Board
Dr. Dave Potenziani
Dr. Lillian Tom-Orme
Dr. Mike Roco
Dr. Jay Bernhardt
Dr. Edward Mensah
Mr. David Rookard
Ms. Brenda A. Leath
Dr. Polly S. Turner
Newsletter Staff
(a) Editor
Dr. Diane L. Adams
dla8315@aol.com
(b) Associate Editor
Dr. David Potenziani david_potenziani@unc.edu
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
(c) Assistant Editor
Dr. Laurie Fitts
lau328@aol.com
South University
(d) Assistant Editor
Dr. Jayfus Doswell
juxtopia@hotmail.com
Juxtopia, LLC
(e) Assistant Editor
Christopher Williams
cwilliams@lhcr.org
Louisiana Health Care Review, Inc.
Committed to Improving
Global Health Through
Technology