CDC Data Modernization Initiative – Notable Milestones: 2019-2022
CDC’s Data Modernization Initiative (DMI) is a comprehensive strategy designed to move public health from tracking threats to predicting them. Expanding on the work of CDC’s Surveillance Strategy, the DMI is making a measurable difference our nation’s ability both to respond to the current pandemic and to find and face any future public health threat.
Below are some key advancements in our progress.
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Complex threats expose gaps and prompt action
- Partners sound the alarmexternal icon that public health data are “moving slower than disease”
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Epidemics like opioids, suicide, and EVALI challenge public health’s capabilities
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Public Health Data Modernization Initiative (DMI) launches with a vision of world class data and analytics
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CDC answers the urgent call
- Focus on core surveillance systems improves early warning signals for biggest health threats
- CDC releases open data site to share technology resources and foster innovation
- New IT and Data Governance unifies CDC’s investments in modernization
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For the first time, Congress dedicates $50 million in FY2020pdf icon to support data modernization
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Growing support for modernization
- Data standards, such as FHIRexternal icon, and new federal policies push modernization forward
- CDC expands data-ready innovation with healthcare, academic, and research partners
- CDC awards first funding to states for data modernization and system interoperability
- DMI lays out a strategic roadmappdf icon to guide modernization and evaluation
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Volume and velocity of COVID-19 cases quickly overwhelms public health data systems
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Answering the pandemic
- Multiple CDC surveillance systems extend ability to track COVID-19
- CDC rapidly onboards health departments to automate transmission of electronic laboratory reports
- Huge leaps in electronic case reporting (eCR) automate real-time information exchange between thousands of healthcare facilities
- Provisional COVID-19 death data and new data on excess deaths informs response
- CDC and federal agencies stand up experimental data to track mental, social, and economic health
- CDC integrates data from multiple core surveillance systems into COVID Tracker interface
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Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act designates $500 million to support rapid modernization
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Accelerating the strategy
- Accelerated investments and projects increase capacity to rapidly detect and respond to the pandemic
- Assigned Implementation Leads align, coordinate, monitor, and measure progress toward future state
- CDC expands programs for state-of-the-art data science, visualization, and informatics training
- CDC and the U.S. Digital Serviceexternal icon pilot pandemic-ready systemspdf icon at state and local health departments
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Congress dedicates $50 million in FY2021 to continue data modernization activities
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The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act provides an additional $500 million to CDC to advance surveillance and analytics infrastructure, as well as to establish a forecasting center for emerging biological threats.
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Expanding our capabilities
- A new $3 billion, multi-year grant program supports state and local workforce development.
- CDC built an immunization data lake to handle the massive COVID-19 vaccine roll-out and delivery.
- CDC created a cloud-based platform to catalogue, analyze, and publish findings faster than previously possible.
- Ongoing improvements to data collection and sharing improve health equity.
- In August 2021, CDC stands up the new National Center for Epidemic Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics.
- New cloud-based and computational capabilities enable CDC to process millions of unique SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences.
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Congress dedicates $100M in FY2022 to modernize public health data surveillance and analytics at CDC and state and local health departments.
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The path to prevention
- Sustainable investments will ensure lifesaving prevention and response for COVID-19 and beyond