How can the integration of health informatics, as described by Bell (2018), enhance public
health policy responses during pandemics like COVID-19, as highlighted by Ronquillo et
al. (2020)? What specific challenges do both articles identify in utilizing informatics, and
how can these challenges be addressed to improve future healthcare outcomes?
The article “Public Policy and Health Informatics” by Bell (2018) highlights the importance of
informatics in healthcare, and the critical relationship between public policy and health
informatics. Health informatics has been implemented in almost all aspects of healthcare. Today,
clinicians and other healthcare workers utilize systems like EHRs to complete real-time
documentation, early treatment interventions, research, quality improvement, and patient billing.
These systems also allow for patient care transparency and patient involvement in their own care
through patient portals and other innovations (Bell, 2018). The COVID-19 pandemic brought to
light the importance of health informatics not only for everyday use but also during times of
emergency. According to Ronquillo et al. (2020), during the COVID-19 pandemic, health
informatics systems enabled policymakers to collect and analyze information from multiple
sources like hospitals and labs; and allowed for real-time information to help shape public health
policies like the mask and lock-down policies implemented in the many US communities.
The use of health informatics during the COVID-19 pandemic showed just how useful and
integral informatics can be during a public health emergency. However, the COVID-19 pandemic
also identified many challenges in using health informatics in public health policy. Ronquillo et
al. (2020) point out that system and data interoperability were significant challenges faced by
policymakers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Multiple information systems in both public and
private health sectors meant that critical information needed for policy decisions could not
always be quickly gathered, synthesized, and made available to policymakers (Ronquillo et al.,
2020). Problems with interoperability during COVID-19 could be seen where the number of
people who died in hospitals was significantly under-calculated due to delayed data collection
and sharing (Ronquillo et al., 2020). To improve the gaps in data interoperability identified by
the COVID-19 pandemic, Ronquillo et al. (2020) suggest the incorporation of standardized data-
sharing among public and private health agencies. Standardized data-sharing would allow for
accurate and efficient interventions by public health policymakers especially during times of
public health emergencies. These challenges can also be overcome by continued US government
support in the form of policies and laws like the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(2009) and organizational incentive programs to promote the continued growth of informatics in
healthcare.
References
Bell K. (2018). Public Policy and Health Informatics. Seminars in oncology nursing, 34(2), 184–
187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soncn.2018.03.010
Ronquillo, J. G., Lester, W. T., & Zuckerman, D. M. (2020). Using informatics to guide public
health policy during the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA. Journal of public health (Oxford,
England), 42(4), 660–664. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdaa081
Hello Priscilla:
Ronquillo et al. (2020) in their article discussed the challenges faced by public health
policymakers during the COVID-19 pandemic when it came to utilizing health informatics in
their policy decisions. As pointed out in your post one of these challenges was deficiencies in
data interoperability across the different sectors which ranged from hospitals to local public
health departments. Ronquillo et al. (2020) in concluding their discussion suggested establishing
a stronger informatics structure in preparation for future public health emergencies. This future
informatics structure the authors suggested should allow for more standardized data-sharing and
collaboration between public health policymakers and healthcare organizations.
Fast forward to now, the year 2024, and the question should probably be raised as to how much
closer the US is to closing the data interoperability gaps identified during the COVID-19
pandemic. Health policies like the US Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 which was in
effect starting January 2020 assisted with significant growth in health informatics and data
sharing among federal officials, state health departments, hospitals, and labs (Lee et al., 2024).
However, many of these public policies have expired, and with them the funding needed to
address the challenges like interoperability faced by public health policymakers (Lee et al.,
2024).
References
Lee, J. S., Tyler, A. R. B., Veinot, T. C., & Yakel, E. (2024). Now Is the Time to Strengthen
Government-Academic Data Infrastructures to Jump-Start Future Public Health Crisis Response.
JMIR public health and surveillance, 10, e51880. https://doi.org/10.2196/51880
Ronquillo, J. G., Lester, W. T., & Zuckerman, D. M. (2020). Using informatics to guide public
health policy during the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA. Journal of public health (Oxford,
England), 42(4), 660–664. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdaa081
