title: The future of public health informatics: alternative scenarios and recommended strategies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In October 2013, the Public Health Informatics Institute (PHII) and Institute for Alternative Futures (IAF) convened a multidisciplinary group of experts to evaluate forces shaping public health informatics (PHI) in the United States, with the aim of identifying upcoming challenges and opportunities. The PHI workshop was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as part of its larger strategic planning process for public health and primary care.
  During the two-day workshop, nine experts from the public and private sectors analyzed and discussed the implications of four scenarios regarding the United States economy, health care system, information technology (IT) sector, and their potential impacts on public health in the next 10 years, by 2023. Workshop participants considered the potential role of the public health sector in addressing population health challenges in each scenario, and then identified specific informatics goals and strategies needed for the sector to succeed in this role.
  Participants developed recommendations for the public health informatics field and for public health overall in the coming decade. These included the need to rely more heavily on intersectoral collaborations across public and private sectors, to improve data infrastructure and workforce capacity at all levels of the public health enterprise, to expand the evidence base regarding effectiveness of informatics-based public health initiatives, and to communicate strategically with elected officials and other key stakeholders regarding the potential for informatics-based solutions to have an impact on population health.
authors.affiliation: AcademyHealth.
authors.forename: Margo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Edmunds
authors.affiliation: CUNY School of Public Health, Hunter College.
authors.forename: Lorna
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thorpe
authors.affiliation: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sepulveda
authors.affiliation: Institute for Alternative Futures.
authors.forename: Clem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bezold
authors.affiliation: Public Health Informatics Institute.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Ross
references.citation: EGEMS (Wash DC). 2014 May 05;2(1):1060
references.pmid: 25848591
references.citation: Health Aff (Millwood). 2008 May-Jun;27(3):759-69
references.pmid: 18474969
references.citation: Health Aff (Millwood). 2011 Nov;30(11):2056-63
references.pmid: 22068396
references.citation: MMWR Suppl. 2012 Jul 27;61(3):20-4
references.pmid: 22832993
references.citation: J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2013 Mar-Apr;20(2):224-6
references.pmid: 23059730
references.citation: MMWR Suppl. 2012 Jul 27;61(3):25-9
references.pmid: 22832994
references.citation: Annu Rev Public Health. 2009;30:175-201
references.pmid: 19296775
references.citation: J AHIMA. 2014 May;85(5):38-43
references.pmid: 24938034
references.citation: EGEMS (Wash DC). 2014 Sep 04;2(3):1089
references.pmid: 25848616
references.citation: BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2009 May 15;9:24
references.pmid: 19445665
references.citation: EGEMS (Wash DC). 2014 Apr 23;2(1):1057
references.pmid: 25848589