Transforming Relationships in Complex Environments: The PHIN Experience

CDC’s involvement in creating a Public Health Information Network (PHIN) began in 1999 with a goal of increasing public health’s ability to electronically exchange information.  The subsequent events of 9/11 forced CDC’s PHIN efforts to rapidly evolve to emphasis information exchange related to emergencies and large-scale public health events.  Over time there has been widespread recognition that public health can only be successful in the information exchange arena if this capability is built from the ground up around routine core public health functions.

The development of a network that encompasses all aspects of public health and intersects with clinical care involves a wide array of diverse stakeholders and existing relationships, including those between State and local public health agencies at the CDC.  As PHIN evolved to focus on preparedness activities, relationships between these critical players became strained as the rapid changes demanded by CDC were ineffectively communicated and sometimes uninformed by public health practitioners on the front lines.  Over the past 3-4 years CDC’s National Center for Public Health Informatics, Division of Alliance Management and Consultation, has put tremendous effort into rebuilding relationships, facilitating true dialogue, and establishing and enhancing regular communication.

This session will discuss strategies and lessons learned from social collaboration, how CDC has leveraged these concepts to reposition PHIN and informatics, and future plans for continuous improvement.  Participants will learn about the various direct marketing and communications strategies as well as relationship management models that can be applied in any setting.  Participants are encouraged to provide feedback on these efforts and to offer suggestions for improvement.