Fiscal Year 2009: The Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) for Infectious Disease program plays a critical role in strengthening our nation s infrastructure for preventing and controlling infectious diseases. The program builds epidemiology, laboratory, and information systems capacity in all 50 states to assist frontline state programs respond to infectious disease outbreaks, address the increasing threat of antimicrobial resistance, and detect and respond to new and emerging infectious diseases. As states are in different stages of implementing laboratory information management systems and electronic laboratory orders and results reporting, ELC funding would be flexible in its applications; however monies would be directed specifically toward meeting the goals of meaningful use for electronic laboratory reporting for nationally notifiable conditions.

As of the end of 2008, 52 of 56 CDC Immunization Program grantees reported that approximately 18 million (75%) U.S. children aged <6 years participated in an Immunization Information System (IIS). Further, only 43% of grantees reported that Health Level 7 (HL7) was used as an electronic format for data received by the IIS while 68% reported the receipt of electronic data using flat file format. Grantees report that many Electronic Health Record (EHR) vendors exchanging data with IIS electronically are already certified by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT), but not for interoperability with IISs. Direct funding to state and local CDC Immunization Program grantees with IIS will be used to plan, enhance, adopt, and apply health information technology standards for direct health care system interoperability. Enhanced EHR-IIS interoperability will improve the completeness of immunization histories available to clinicians and public health, improve the timeliness of immunization data submission to an IIS, improve the quality of IIS coverage assessments, and the data available to other public health systems (e.g. vaccine preventable disease surveillance units). Improved interoperability will also reduce extra immunization, thereby saving time and resources.

The Laboratory Technical Implementation Center for Public Health (LTICPH) will establish capacity to assist public health laboratories and state health departments to enhance laboratory information management systems (LIMS) and other critical IT infrastructure to support interoperability and sharing of electronic laboratory data with public health agencies and lay the groundwork for interoperability with EHRs. This Center will help labs implement and maintain the capacity to format and electronically share standard data, and public health recipients must be able to securely receive, parse, and use such data. Public health department partners, likewise, must develop and maintain complementary IT infrastructure to securely receive, parse, analyze, and utilize shared data. Electronic laboratory data must be seamlessly incorporated into public health systems to adequately support public health in leveraging laboratory data to ensure a holistic approach to surveillance and to support epidemiological analysis and public health response. Fiscal Year 2010: No Current Data Available Fiscal Year 2011: No Current Data Available

Uses and Use Restrictions

Project funds will be used to improve the interoperability of immunization information systems and electronic laboratory information exchange between public health and clinical care.

Of the HITECH funds that CDC will provide 85% of the funds to eligible states/territories/large local health departments, non-governmental organizations, or not-for-profit organizations using the following Cooperative Agreements: the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Disease program, the Laboratory Technical Implementation Assistance for Public Health and the CDC State Immunization Program.

Project funds may be used for costs associated with planning, organizing, conducting and supporting programs directed toward meeting meaningful use objectives related to the interoperability of immunization registries with Electronic Health Records (EHR) and electronic laboratory information exchange between public health and clinical care.

These funds may be used for the preservation of jobs necessary to build capacity in state and local health departments related to these program areas.

CDC will provide 85% of the funds to eligible states/territories/large local health departments, non-governmental organizations, or not-for-profit organizations using the following Cooperative Agreements: the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Disease program, the Laboratory Technical Implementation Assistance for Public Health and the CDC State Immunization Program.