BACKGROUND:
Many jurisdictions are involved in the deployment of multiple public health information systems that are part of the Public Health Information Network (PHIN). Integration of these systems should be a high priority for health departments seeking to leverage both data and technology to improve the speed, accuracy and comprehensiveness of their surveillance and immunization tracking.

OBJECTIVE:
To understand how various PHIN-related systems can be integrated, and to identify the logical functions that can be supported by this integration.

METHOD:
The author examined five major public health system types and developed a conceptual model for their integration. These systems included:
* An immunization registry
* Smallpox Pre-event System
* National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS)
* Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) Data Management System
* Data warehouse
Examples of integration efforts from around the country will also be offered.

RESULT:
The conceptual roadmap offered in this presentation will help projects assess the benefits and possibilities to system integration.

CONCLUSION:
These systems represent a rich source of information and should be leveraged wherever possible. A more thorough analysis needs to be done for a specific jurisdiction, with the benefit of more specific information about the contents, uses, and processes supported there, in order to identify how transfer of information between then can be accomplished.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
To understand the conceptual elements surrounding the integration of PHIN-related systems and how to leverage them for immunization tracking projects.