Publications and Resources

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CDC’s is committed to improving the value of public health surveillance and data. Learn more about this ongoing work by reading the resources below.

Data Modernization Initiative Strategic Implementation Plan
Implementation Plan Graphic

CDC’s Data Modernization Initiative (DMI) is how our nation will move from siloed and brittle public health data systems to connected, resilient, adaptable, and sustainable ‘response-ready’ systems. Grounded in this ambitious vision, the DMI Implementation Strategy lays out five key priorities and a supporting set of objectives that are interdependent and equally important to reaching the future state. Each of these priorities and its objectives will lead us toward specific key results by which we can measure our impact.

Download and print the Data Modernization Initiative Strategic Implementation Plan pdf icon[PDF – 1 MB].

The following publications from external partners and CDC offer critical insights and recommendations that are informing the work of CDC’s Data Modernization Initiative.

The list below consists of peer-reviewed literature as well as official reports from professional organizations, national commissions, and more. The authors represent a wide range of professional sectors, including federal and state government, academia, the private sector, the non-profit sector, and policymakers. This list will continue to be updated.

  1. Armooh, T., Barton, T., Castillo, G., Cinnick, S., Clark, S., Giles-Cantrell, B., Gorenflo, G., Hoagland, G. W., Horneffer, K., Pardal, A., Parekh, A., Pham, T., Resnick, B., Rice, S., Sellers, K., Shirley, L., & Wu, K. (2021, December). Public Health Forward: Modernizing the U.S. Public Health Systemexternal icon. The Bipartisan Policy Center.
  2. Aturaliya, R., Espinosa, O., Lafronza, V., Ransom, M., & Bleser, J. (2021). Challenges and Opportunities for Strengthening the US Public Health Infrastructure: Findings from the Scan of the Literaturepdf iconexternal icon.
  3. Braun, P. (2020). Public Health Data Modernization Executive Summary Report. pdf icon[PDF]
  4. Cassel, C., Chyba, C., Graham, S. L., Holdren, J. P., Lander, E. S., Levin, R., Penhoet, E., Press, W., Savitz, M., & Varmus, H. (2020). Epidemiological Modeling Needs New, Coherent, Federal Support for the Post-COVID-19 Erapdf iconexternal icon.
  5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Public Health Data Modernization: Listening Session on Real-World Testing of 21st Century Cures Act Requirementspdf icon.
  6. Council for State and Territorial Epidemiologists. (2019). Driving Public Health in the Fast Lane: The Urgent Need for a 21st Century Data Superhighwaypdf iconexternal icon.
  7. The Data Coalition. (2021, November 15). Request for Information on Behalf of the Federal Chief Data Officers Councilexternal icon. The Data Foundation.
  8. Daschle, T., First, B., Wilensky, G., Burke, S., Capretta, J., Crippen, D., Hamburg, M., Jennings, C., Lavizzo-Mourey, R., Roper, W., Smith, M., & Wen, L. (2021). Positioning America’s public health system for the next pandemicexternal icon. Washington: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. The Bipartisan Policy Center.
  9. Dastvar, D., & Averill, D. (2021). The National Public Health Data System: The case for an aggregated national healthcare databaseexternal icon. [Whitepaper].
  10. DeSalvo, K., Hughes, B., Basset, M., Benjamin, G., Fraser, M., Galea, S., Gracia, N. J., & Howard, J. (2021). Public Health COVID-19 Impact Assessment: Lessons Learned and Compelling Needspdf iconexternal icon. NAM Perspective. doi: 10.31478/202104c.
  11. DeSalvo, K. B., Wang, Y. C., Harris, A., Auerbach, J., Koo, D., & O’Carroll, P. (2017). Public Health 3.0: A Call to Action for Public Health to Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century. Prev Chronic Dis, 14(170017). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd14.170017.
  12. Digital Bridge Public Health API Workgroup. (2021, September). Public Health API Concept Paper Version 1.0pdf iconexternal icon.
  13. Gee, R. E., & Khan, A. S. (2021) Leading the world again: creating a 21st-century public health agencyexternal icon. Am J Public Health, 111(4):594–596.
  14. George, D. B., Taylor, W., Shaman, J., Rivers, C., Paul, B., O’Toole, T., Johansson, M. A., Hirschman, L., Biggerstaff, M., Asher, J., & Reich, N. G. (2019). Technology to advance infectious disease forecasting for outbreak managementexternal icon. Nature Communications, 10(3932). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11901-7.
  15. Gerberding, J. L. (2021). Back to the Future of Public Healthexternal icon. American Journal of Public Health,111(4):596-7.
  16. Health Information Technology Advisory Committee. (2021, July 14). Public Health Data Systems Task Force 2021 Report to the Health Information Technology Advisory Committeepdf iconexternal icon.
  17. Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. (2021, November 5). Public Health Information and Technology Infrastructure Modernization Funding Report: Care Investment Strategies to Modernize and Interoperate Federal, State, Local, Tribal Public Health Systemspdf iconexternal icon.
  18. Kadakia, K. T., Howell, M. D., & DeSalvo, K. B. (2021). Modernizing Public Health Data Systems: Lessons From the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Actexternal icon. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 326(5), 385-386. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2021.12000
  19. Krofah, E., Gasca, C., & Degarmo, A. (2021). A Global Early Warning System for Pandemics: Mobilizing Surveillance for Emerging Pathogenspdf iconexternal icon. Milken Institute.
  20. Mok, L., & Ramirez, J. (2020). Develop the Competencies Your Workforce Needs for the Digital Ecosystem (Garter, Inc).
  21. The National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems. (2021). Charting a Course for an Equity-Centered Data System: Recommendations from the National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systemsexternal icon. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
  22. The National Network of Public Health Institutes & The Texas Health Institute. (2021, November). The Future of Public Health: A Synthesis Report for the Fieldexternal icon.
  23. Partnership for Public Service. (2020). Bit by Bit: How Government Used Technology to Move the Mission Forward During COVID-19external icon. Microsoft.
  24. Partnership for Public Service. (2021). Retracing Steps: Reflecting on Management Lessons in Public Health Data Infrastructure During COVID-19external icon.
  25. Partnership for Public Service. (2021). Roadmap for Renewing our Federal Governmentpdf iconexternal icon.
  26. Singletary, V., & Kerr, J. (2021). Building Back Better: Transforming U.S. public health data and infrastructure to protect health and achieve health equitypdf iconexternal icon. Public Health Informatics Institute.
  27. Singletary, V., Richards, C. L., Ross, D. A., O’Carroll, P., & Baker, E. L. (2021). Modernizing Our Nation’s Public Health Information System: Toward an Integrated Approachexternal icon. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 27(5), 521-525. DOI: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000001400
  28. The Rockefeller Foundation. (2021). Accelerating National Genomic Surveillance: Action Plan Towards a Coordinated, Robust Genomic Surveillance System in the United Statespdf iconexternal icon.
  29. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2020). Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategypdf iconexternal icon.
  30. van Panhuis, W. G., Paul, P., Emerson, C., Grefenstette, J., Wilder, R., Herbst, A. J., Heymann, D., & Burke, D. S. (2014). A systematic review of barriers to data sharing in public healthexternal icon. BMC Public Health, 14(1144). DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-114

Featured Publication: Public Health Surveillance: Preparing for the Futurepdf icon chronicles the CDC strategy to improve the agency’s public health surveillance and data capabilities over 3 to 5 years and sets the stage for a more transformative strategy to improve the value of public health data.

Additional Publications:

  1. Ahier B. FHIR and the future of interoperability. Healthcare IT News. January 6, 2015. http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/fhir-and-future-interoperabilityexternal icon.
  2. Benjamin EJ, Virani SS, Callaway CW, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics—2018 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2018;137(12):e67-492. http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/137/12/e67external icon.
  3. Public Health Surveillance at CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated August 24, 2018. Accessed December 8, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/surveillance/Improving-Surveillance-Background.html.
  4. How Sharing Data Digitally Benefits Health: Bridging Public Health and Health Care. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated July 13, 2018. Accessed December 8, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/surveillance/bridging-public-health-and-health-care-better-exchange-better-data.html.
  5. CDC Health Information Innovation Consortium (CHIIC). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated February 15, 2019. Accessed December 8, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/ophss/chiic/overview.html.
  6. Health Information Innovation Consortium (CHIIC): Project Portfolio. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated February 15, 2019. Accessed December 8, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/ddphss/chiic/project_portfolio.html.
  7. Public Health Surveillance and Data: Projects. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. August 9, 2021. Accessed December 8, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/surveillance/Progress-and-Projects.html.
  8. Department of Health and Human Services. Modernizing Morality Data Systems and Analytic Tools at CDC: Strengthening mortality data infrastructure to improve and safeguard the health of our nation. 2018. https://www.hhs.gov/cto/projects/modernizing-mortality-data-systems-and-analytic-tools-at-cdc/index.htmlexternal icon.
  9. Edison L, Erickson A, Smith S, et al. Notes from the Field: Counterfeit Percocet – Related Overdose Cluster – Georgia. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2017; 66:1119-1120. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/mm6641a6.htm. PDF Availablepdf icon.
  10. Gould DW, Walker D, Yoon PW. The evolution of BioSense: lessons learned and future directions. Public Health Reports. 2017;132(Suppl 1):7s-1s. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0033354917706954external icon.
  11. Lee B. Martin T, Khan A, Fullerton K, et al. Modernizing Centers for Disease Control and prevention informatics using surveillance data platform shared services. Public Health Reports. 2018;133(2):130-135. https://www.cdc.gov/sdp/docs/ModernizingCDCInformatics_Journal.pdfpdf icon.
  12. Lee D, host. “How to listen your way to the future of healthcare”. The #HCBiz Show, episode 24, Glide Health IT, October 26, 2017, https://thehcbiz.com/listen-way-future-healthcare-dr-chesley-richards-cdc/external icon.
  13. Mac Kenzie WR, Davidson AJ, Wiesenthal A, et al. The Promise of Electronic Case Reporting. Public Health Reports. 2016:131;742-746. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033354916670871external icon. PDF Availableexternal icon
  14. Office of Public Health Scientific Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Public Health Surveillance: Preparing for the Future. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; September 2018. https://www.cdc.gov/surveillance/improving-surveillance/index.html. PDF Availablepdf icon
  15. Prothero G. The future of FHIR. Becker’s Health IT and CIO Report. July 17, 2017. https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/the-future-of-fhir.htmlexternal iconexternal icon.
  16. Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE). Review of Recommendations for the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System: A State and Local Health Department Perspective. April 2013. https://cdn.ymaws.com/sites/www.cste.org/resource/resmgr/PDFs/NNDSS_Report.pdfpdf iconexternal icon.
  17. Richards CL. Bridging public health and technology: why innovation matters. Presentation at: GVU Center Brown Bag Seminar; November 17, 2017; Atlanta, GA. http://hg.gatech.edu/node/598433external icon.
  18. Richards CL, Iademarco MF, Anderson TC. A new strategy for public health surveillance at CDC: improving national surveillance activities and outcomes. Public Health Reports. 2014; 129(6):472-476. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4187298/external icon.
  19. Richards CL, Iademarco MF, Atkinson D, et al. Advances in public health surveillance and information dissemination at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Public Health Reports. 2017;132(4):403-410. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0033354917709542external icon.
  20. Richards CL, Lee B. CDC Surveillance Strategy – A strategy for improving CDC activities in public health surveillance. Online J Public Health Inform. 2015;7(1):e49. http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4512337external icon.
  21. Spencer MR, Ahmad F. Timeliness of Death Certificate Data for Mortality Surveillance and Provisional Estimates. National Center for Health Statistics. January 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsrr/report001.pdfpdf icon.
  22. Yoon PW, Ising AI, Gunn JE (Eds.). Syndromic Surveillance: The Value of Real-time Data for Public Health Action. Public Health Reports Volume 132, Issue 1_suppl, July/August 2017. https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/phrg/132/1_supplexternal icon.
  23. Toon J (Ed.). The health informatics revolution. Research Horizons. 2016;3. http://www.rh.gatech.edu/features/health-informatics-revolutionexternal icon.
  24. Lamb E, Satre J, Pon S, et al. Update on progress in electronic reporting of laboratory results to public health agencies – United States, 2014. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2015;64(12):328-330. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4584531/external icon. PDF Availablepdf iconexternal icon.
  25. Vivolo-Kantor AM, Seth P, Gladden RM, et al. Vital Signs: trends in emergency department visits for suspected opioid overdoses — United States, July 2016–September 2017. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2018;67(9):279–285. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6709e1.htm.

Conferences, Presentations and Abstracts

Page last reviewed: December 22, 2021
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Deputy Director for Public Health Science and Surveillance (DDPHSS)