PHDS and Core Data Sources
View the full Public Health Data Strategy [891 KB, 20 Pages].
Core Data Sources1 are essential to identify diseases and conditions, detect emerging public health threats, and understand disease burden and severity across different populations. The PHDS decreases the burden to securely report these critical data, and improves dissemination to ensure the right data are available at the right time.
Core Data Sources…
Case data represent comprehensive disease and condition information used by public health to understand disease burden, know who is at risk, and identify outbreaks.
Laboratory data, including test results and test type, enable public health agencies to track disease trends and identify outbreaks or exposures, and help frontline providers diagnose and treat health conditions.
Emergency department data, including clinical diagnoses, signs, and symptoms, help identify near real-time trends for new, emerging, and developing public health threats to inform faster detection and response.
Vital statistics data include birth and death data and are essential to understand disease severity, mortality, trauma, and toxicity that might signal a larger public health emergency.
Immunization data capture vaccine doses administered (both routinely recommended and response-related) to support calculating vaccination coverage levels and trends.
Healthcare capacity and utilization data assess availability of healthcare resources, including staff, beds, and equipment, aiding understanding of health system stresses and disease severity to inform resource allocation.
1. Core Data Sources as defined in CDC Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) Data and Surveillance Workgroup (DSW) Report; non-exhaustive of all data sources critical to public health awareness and response (e.g., advanced molecular detection data).