BACKGROUND: In 2016, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) began an agency-wide effort to advance interoperability across its public health information systems in order to improve data quality and timeliness, optimize surveillance capabilities, better support population health, and ensure proper follow-up and action to public health threats. While MDH programs have demonstrated high levels of interest in implementing interoperable and standards-driven approaches to health information exchange (HIE), programs require informatics support to make interoperability a reality. This informatics framework fills that need by providing a structured approach, practical tools, and guidance for advancing public health information system interoperability.
METHODS: The informatics framework incorporates information gathered from an environmental scan of existing informatics frameworks, models, and toolkits; key informant interviews; reviews of program workflows and business processes; and analyses of data from the 2016 MDH Informatics Assessment of Interoperability and HIE. Minnesota’s birth defects registry, the Birth Defects Information System, was selected as a pilot program for testing and validating the framework. Lessons learned from the pilot project informed modifications to the framework to improve program-level applicability. Additional MDH information systems will be identified to test and validate the framework as the health department continues working toward agency-wide interoperability.
RESULTS: The 2016 MDH Informatics Assessment of Interoperability and HIE identified 21 MDH public health information systems that accept and manage clinical, individual-level health information. Despite wide variations regarding information system size (range, 400 to 10,000,000 individuals), staffing (range, 0.2 to 21 FTEs), and budgets (range, $20,000 to $1,876,000), programs identified similar needs related to advancing interoperability, including informatics support for modernizing surveillance systems and adopting the latest data standards. The informatics framework aims to address these programmatic needs by outlining the key steps, outputs, and considerations for advancing interoperability and better leveraging electronic health information.
CONCLUSIONS: Advancing interoperability and electronic health information exchange across Minnesota’s public health information systems is imperative for improving data quality and timeliness, optimizing surveillance capabilities, and informing more effective public health practices that lead to better, more equitable population health outcomes. Minnesota’s public health information systems recognize the need for these advancements but require additional informatics support to achieve interoperability. This informatics framework offers a disciplined approach to public health information system design and provides MDH programs with the practical resources and guidance needed for advancing interoperability.