Page 7 - Driving Public Health in the Fast Lane

Glossary of Terms

Application: Software running on a platform that performs a Health information exchange: A public or private
specific analysis (output) from a raw data set (input). organization that governs a network of electronic health
records from many providers onto a single platform using
Bioinformatics: In the context of public health surveillance, cloud computing. Any provider or health official with access
the field of data science that analyzes and compares whole rights can view or exchange the data in a patient record with
genomes from organisms, showing temporality of infection another provider or entity.
and relatedness and allowing strong inferences about
common sources of outbreaks and clusters. Bioinformatics Interoperability: The ability of computer applications,
relies on cloud computing with broadband internet platforms, systems, and networks to communicate
connectivity, platforms with robust messaging capacity, and electronically with one another by using standardized
applications running sophisticated algorithms. nomenclature, language, and architecture.

Clinical decision support: An application usually running in Legacy system: An outdated or older computer system,
the electronic health record platform that assists the provider programming language, or application software that is used
with patient care, such as medication interactions, allergies, until upgrades are available, or used instead of available
immunization reminders, appropriate laboratory diagnostics, upgraded versions (often as a result of resource constraints).
and public health case reporting. “Legacy system” also may be associated with terminology or
processes that are no longer applicable to current contexts or
Cloud computing: A federated data model that allows content.
computer systems to send and receive data on common
platforms for user sharing, comparisons, analytics, and Platform: Computer hardware and software needed to run
visualization. The infrastructure for cloud computing is an application that can receive inputs from, and send outputs
composed of many server computers connected by the to, multiple sources using common standardized messaging
internet. language.

Disease (or condition) notification: In the context of public Public health surveillance: The ongoing systematic
health surveillance, disease cases that are voluntarily notified collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data, closely
to CDC by the state or local health department. Notifiable integrated with the timely dissemination of these data to
disease and reportable disease lists have a great deal of those responsible for preventing and controlling disease (or
overlap but are not necessarily the same. condition), exposure, and injury.

Disease (or condition) reporting: In the context of public Situational awareness: In the context of public health
health surveillance, diseases that are required by state and preparedness, acquiring and analyzing data and the
local law and rule to be reported to the health department information about a known incident or event. Syndromic
when suspected by a health care provider, hospital, or surveillance is a situational awareness tool.
laboratory, and possibly others such as restaurant operators
and school principals. Syndromic surveillance: A branch of public health
surveillance that traditionally identifies syndromes rather
Electronic health record: The digital versions of than individual cases. Syndromes are based on a collection
patients’ medical encounters, which can include patient of symptoms and signs (e.g., headache and fever) rather than
demographics, diagnoses, vaccination status, medications, diagnostic codes and lab results. Syndromes are obtained
laboratory results, and more. Electronic health records are from electronic health record emergency department chief
not routinely part of the public health surveillance domain, complaints, triage notes, and other data elements, and from
but are critical sources of health care data that enhance other points of care in the community such as urgent care
public health response. centers, poison center calls, or emergency medical service
runs. As diagnostics codes become available in the medical
record, they are often incorporated.

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