Tim Kaine: “Our Nation's public health system needs high quality, timely, and accurate data to protect the public from health…”

“Our Nation's public health system needs high quality, timely, and accurate data to protect the public from health threats like opioid overdoses, influenza, measles, and more. Effective prevention and response to health threats requires coordinated efforts between health care providers and public health officials across all levels of government. Unfortunately, the public health data systems we rely on for our health and safety are antiquated and fragmented. Systems lack the interoperability needed to facilitate timely, secure information exchange. Too often, public health departments are forced to rely on systems with manual processes that are time consuming and error prone, such as paper records, faxes, and phone calls. Only two jurisdictions have begun the process to receive electronic case reports directly from health records, and only for a small number of diseases. Our public health data infrastructure lacks the automation, security, interoperability, and skilled workforce we need to confront the public health threats of today and tomorrow. Today, I am pleased to introduce with my colleagues, Senator Isakson and Senator King, the Saving Lives Through Better Data Act to assist in building the 21st Century public health data infrastructure our Nation needs.…”