INSIGHT & INSPIRATION FROM APHA’S 2012 MIDYEAR MEETING

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Survive All In This Friends Prevention, Strategies
& Thrive Together For Health Opportunity & Equity for Health
Building Systems for Action
The impact of health information isn’t in its collection; it’s about how the information is put to
use. And putting it to use means sharing, collaborating on and creating systems that leverage
health resources and workers already on the ground.
That was the big message from Dan Jensen, associate director at Olmsted County, Minn., Public
Health Services. Introduced as an “evangelist” for health information technology, Jensen reported
that the agency is in the midst of working to become “informatics savvy.” In other words,
transforming data into effective practice. But to make electronic health records and information
systems “work for us,” information technology must be connected to patient outcomes — that’s
where we’ll drive change, Jensen told session attendees. But what was the “secret sauce” to
making that happen, he asked.
The answer was building communities of practice. Today, the public health agency works
with three such communities: one consisting of large medical providers, another of mid-sized
providers (which includes local public health) and the last of under-utilized organizations and
workers, such as nursing homes and school nurses. But coming together as general communities
of practice wasn’t good enough, Jensen said; it’s critical to engage all stakeholders, including
residents.
“We’re used to bringing people together and having these conversations,” he said. “Now, we
don’t have the dollars that primary care providers have...but public health does have a lot of
experience in bringing communities of practice together, working together to build systems.”