Public Health Information Network (PHIN)

Countermeasure Tracking Systems

Countermeasure Inventory Tracking Dashboard

CIT Background

The Need for the Countermeasure Inventory Tracking System

The Countermeasure Inventory Tracking (CIT) Dashboard is a national system used by federal and state emergency response authorities, which provides the ability to track the availability of critical medical and non-medical countermeasures within the commercial drug sector as well as state public health agencies during public health emergencies. By receiving timely data on inventory and distribution of key pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, CDC will be better prepared to ensure that critical countermeasures reach vulnerable populations during an emergency. Voluntary participation of pharmaceutical and medical equipment suppliers is essential to successful planning for events that may impact our national future.
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Objectives of Countermeasure Inventory Tracking

The primary purpose of the CIT Dashboard is to act as a situational awareness tool to assist federal and state officials with decision-making for the release of stockpiled assets. The CIT Dashboard is designed to give public health emergency managers critical information needed to partner effectively with the private sector to protect and treat the American public. Using the CIT Dashboard, public health emergency managers will have a view of the overall commercial supply chain and public sector stockpiles, including data on production, current supplies, and ability for manufacturers and distributors to meet current demand. This information will be combined with corresponding data from the Inventory Management and Tracking System (IMATS), to include federal, state and local stockpiles and vaccine supplies to provide a complete picture of countermeasures, thus enabling CDC to make more timely, accurate, and effective decisions during a major public health event.
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Operational Concept

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Program Focus

Items the CIT Dashboard tracks include pharmaceutical countermeasures, or medical interventions, for public health events. The CIT Dashboard was used during the 2009 H1N1 Pandemic Influenza Event to track antivirals, N-95 respirators and surgical masks. Other medical supplies tracked by the CIT Dashboard include ventilators, masks, additional personal protective equipment (PPE), and other medical materials.
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Data Types

CDC is seeking specific data related to inventory on hand and recent distribution. These include the following:

Basic product information such as NDC numbers
Units of measure/packaging
Lot number and expiration date
Inventory data such as quantities on hand, in process/on order, and commitments
Distribution data, to include the receiving location and purchaser type

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Current CIT Functionality

SNS Supply Chain Dashboard

In October 2009, the CIT program developed the SNS Supply Chain Dashboard to provide visibility of the commercial supply chain and public sector stockpiles to assist decision makers at all levels in responding to the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. One of the primary purposes of the dashboard is to assist federal and state officials in deciding when it is necessary to release stockpiled assets. The dashboard will provide a view of the overall supply chain to include data on production, current supplies, and ability for manufacturers and distributors to meet current demand. This will provide key information on the availability of countermeasures that can meet demand in the near future (available supply) and in the long term (production). It is important to remember that current orders likely include stockpiling at local and facility levels and are not indicative of actual countermeasure usage.

SNS Supply Chain Dashboard Version 4.2

SNS: Supply Chain Dashboard version 4.2 was released in July 2010. This version includes the following functionality:

Basic, national view for critical H1N1 countermeasures of antivirals and PPE
Data Collection for H1N1 from Manufacturers, Distributors, Retailers, Division of Strategic National Stockpile (DSNS), and State/Project Areas via data entry on a secure web form
Data Visualization
Global Administrator Activities using secure web portal
- Provider Maintenance
- Dashboard User Maintenance
- Countermeasure Maintenance
- Provider\Countermeasure Setup
- Provider Market Share Setup
- Internal Report Capabilities
- Code Table Maintenance

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Future Status of CIT

Future plans for CIT include:

Maintain current H1N1 DSNS Dashboard
Determine additional development requirements in conjunction with DSNS; possibilities include
- All-hazard event support in tracking additional inventory
- Increased visualization capabilities for CDC and state partners
- Electronic data streams
- Track inventory of Selected Priority Countermeasures in the Commercial Sector (non-vaccine)
  - Product Information
    - National Drug Code numbers and descriptions
    - Unit of measure/packaging
    - Lot number and expiration date
  - Inventory Data
    - Quantities on hand, in process/on order, commitments
  - Shipments
    - Purchase order number
    - Shipping information and status
    - Recipient identifier/type and location (zip code)
  - Situational awareness reporting and aggregate analysis reports
  - Tools to analyze, visualize, and report (AVR)
  - Ability to import/export data

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How to Participate

How will this data be transmitted to CDC?

During a public health event, pharmaceutical and medical supply manufacturers, distributors, and retailers may be asked to voluntarily contribute existing data to CDC regarding current inventory and distribution of selected products.

The following two methods of data collection are available, refer to the SNS: Supply Chain Dashboard User Guide for detailed information on data collection:

Send provider data in a pre-defined spreadsheet attached to an email to SNS-Dashboard@cdc.gov. SNS drops the spreadsheet in the designated SDN reports folder.
Direct data entry of monthly and weekly data using the Dashboard Data Collection activity. This is the preferred method

Use of data is strictly governed by the terms of binding legal data share agreements (DSA), and the Trade Secrets Act.

Who will have access to the Countermeasure Inventory Tracking data?

The data are viewed by CDC personnel and CDC’s public health partners. All uses of the data and potential disclosures will be covered in a Data Sharing Agreement that CDC signs with each data source. Data are used for public health preparedness and emergency response purposes only. Competitors will never have access to data provided to CDC.
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Benefits of Participation

CDC greatly appreciates the voluntary participation of manufacturers, distributors and retailers of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies in this critical emergency preparedness and response program. Program participants will be better prepared to coordinate their own emergency response efforts with public health officials during future emergency events. Ultimately, this means faster and more effective response for the community. Participants are welcome to publicize this important partnership with CDC and their contribution to America's public health emergency readiness.
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CIT Supports Public Health

The CIT system supports Public Health in the following ways:

Enables CDC to make more effective decisions in regard to the release of federal medical materials
Gain continual situational awareness of critical medical products supply in the private sector
Enhanced coordination with private sector for emergency response

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CIT FAQ

Background

Why does CDC need to track pharmaceuticals and medical materials?

The need to quickly locate and provide critical pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to responders and the public has increased significantly. CDC must be ready at all times to respond to, manage, and reduce the impact of public health emergencies.

During a public health emergency, Government response officials need to have a comprehensive picture of the assets available to make critical purchasing and distribution decisions. By receiving near real-time data on inventory and distribution of key pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, CDC will be better prepared to ensure that critical countermeasures reach vulnerable populations during an emergency.

How is this different from the Strategic National Stockpile?

The Strategic National Stockpile contains limited quantities of critical pharmaceuticals and supplies specific to dealing with the top national planning scenarios, including category A agents and pandemic influenza.

How will CIT data be used?

CIT data will provide critical information for situational awareness and emergency response to a natural disaster, pandemic flu, or bioterrorism attack. Public health decision makers will use the private sector information, in concert with information available from the Strategic National Stockpile and state and local public health sources, to plan appropriate and timely public health interventions. During a public health emergency, decision-makers will be able to monitor the available inventory and location of medical countermeasures within the supply chain, and current distribution to affected areas, to ensure that appropriate countermeasures reach vulnerable populations.
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Privacy/Legal

What legal protections and security controls are available to protect the confidentiality of the data and to prevent unauthorized users?

CDC is sensitive to business concerns over issues of privacy and confidentiality and has taken precautions to ensure all data are transmitted securely. As a critical information system, Countermeasure Inventory Tracking leverages security services and protections for key CDC information systems. The services and protections provided by security mechanisms such as the Secure Data Network (SDN) include user identity management and authentication and authorization controls to ensure appropriate access to Countermeasure Inventory Tracking (CIT) data. Additionally, the privacy and security measures used by Countermeasure Inventory Tracking (CIT) facilitate compliance with various federal laws and regulations, including the Privacy Act of 1974, Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA), E-Government Act of 2002, and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12).

What is being done to ensure the security of the data transmissions?

CDC routinely manages sensitive data, and Countermeasure Inventory Tracking (CIT) data will be treated with the proper security measures. The security package used by CDC conforms to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) federal guidelines for the level of sensitivity of the kinds of data being transmitted.

The data connections between the individual data sources and CDC are over Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connections, which are very common on the Internet and considered secure. Typically, such connections are identified by the prefix “https.” In addition, the collected data, or what is known as the message payload, is encrypted separately using RSA 128-bit encryption algorithms. These algorithms use public private key pairs via VeriSign digital certificates. RSA algorithms are commonly used for encryption of data sent over the Internet. The message payload is also digitally signed using the same VeriSign certificates. Only bearers of the CIT private key are able to decrypt the data.

These security measures ensure confidentiality, authenticity, and integrity of data being sent to CIT.
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Responsibilities of Data Providers

What are CDC’s expectations of data providers during the pre-event phase (or routine operations)?

Data providers are asked to provide a point of contact familiar with their data to respond to any questions from CDC staff. Data providers should also include CDC on routine correspondence about changes in NDC numbers, new products in the categories of interest, etc.

What are CDC’s expectations of data providers during a health emergency?

Data providers are requested to provide a point of contact within their internal emergency response organizations to serve as a liaison to the CDC Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
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Implementation

How do I get started with CIT?

Because of security requirements based on the sensitive nature of the information accessed, users are required to apply for digital certificates to use CIT. Digital certificates are assigned to individual people and reside on each machine that the individual uses to access CIT. However, certificates can be exported and moved to other machines as necessary. Administrator rights are required to install the digital certificates

If users currently have a digital certificate for accessing another CDC application, they do not need to reapply for a digital certificate. They can apply for the CIT activity by visiting the SDN home page at https://sdn.cdc.gov, and by clicking on the "Request Additional Activities" link in the left pane of the Web page. A request for the H1N1 Countermeasure Inventory Dashboard: SNS Supply Chain Dashboard Activity can be selected from a drop down menu on that page.
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