Altarum and Mathematica Collaborate for Public Health Data Modernization

Altarum is honored to announce a collaboration with Mathematica in providing direct support to state, local, and territorial health departments to adopt new technology and data standards to better connect health care data into the public health ecosystem.

In July 2024, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI), and Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) announced the launch of a new Implementation Center Program to support public health agencies as they modernize their data systems. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided $255M in funding through the Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG) for the new program, which will provide tailored support and technical implementation services to accelerate adoption of the latest health information technology standards for data exchange, including electronic case reporting (eCR) modernization and the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA).

The Implementation Centers will play an essential role in supporting health departments to obtain the necessary tools and support to modernize to the extent that the rest of the healthcare ecosystem has accomplished in the past decade. According to the CDC, this investment will support data modernization by:

• Streamlining how public health agencies operate by using modern technologies
• Reducing the burden of data exchange between public health agencies, healthcare, and the communities in which they serve
• Leveraging an existing multi-billion-dollar investment in electronic health records to support better, more timely data for public health action

Altarum proudly leverages over two decades of experience in strengthening public health information technology infrastructure to support Mathematica, one of the four Implementation Centers. 

Altarum encourages public health agencies interested in participating in the Implementation Center Program to complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) form, which will be available soon on the PHIG Partners website. 

Altarum has hands-on experience supporting agencies in connecting health information for better outcomes. Our cross-functional team of software engineers, data scientists, and public health analysts have the expertise to deliver impactful support and solutions. Explore our impact:

• Building a strong foundation through electronic case reporting (eCR) modernization https://impact.altarum.org/2023/impact-stories/aphl-ecr/
• Developing operational roadmaps for improvement of public health interoperability https://impact.altarum.org/2023/impact-stories/aphl-ecr/
• Advancing public health through innovative vital records interoperability https://impact.altarum.org/2023/impact-stories/vital-records/