Deck 11: Public Health Informatics

Question 1

All of the following are core functions of public health except:

A) assessment.
B) policy development.
C) treatment.
D) assurance.

Answer 1

treatment.

Question 2

Public health differs from clinical practice in important ways. Which statement reflects the differences?

A) Public health is focused on the prevention and health of populations before they are ill.
B) Public health is focused on one individual at a time to ensure the best possible outcome.
C) The health of a community is measured by the use of sophisticated technologies like MRIs.
D) Public health is focused on one family at a time to ensure the best possible outcome.

Answer 2

Public health is focused on the prevention and health of populations before they are ill.

Question 3

You are asked to justify the creation of the first public health informatics (PHI) program in your jurisdiction by emphasizing its actual benefits. One such benefit is that:

A) current PHI can enhance public health surveillance such as identifying clusters of diseases.
B) privacy and security issues are avoided because public health informatics data are de-identified at the community level.
C) interoperability already exists for public health IT.
D) standards already exist for PHI.

Answer 3

current PHI can enhance public health surveillance such as identifying clusters of diseases.

Question 4

Public health systems have implemented vocabulary and messaging standards, are used to make public health decisions in a clinical setting, and provide data for public health policy. One of the best examples of a public health system that does all of these is:

A) the linkage of local electronic health records in the 50 states to public health reporting databases.
B) immunization information systems.
C) geographical informatics systems for reporting environmental issues.
D) direct lab reporting of conditions and diseases such as lead poisoning.

Question 5

The public health supply chain needs to evolve to an information ecology approach. This would involve:

A) standardizing public health supplies and suppliers.
B) being partners with others to receive, reuse, and republish data.
C) allowing public health departments to exclude data sharing to protect patient privacy.
D) allowing public health departments to include data sharing to protect patient privacy.

Question 6

Public health could benefit from improved technical architectures in the future. Which of these is not a likely technology architecture for building the future of public health?

A) Service-oriented architecture (SOA)
B) Software as a service (SaaS)
C) Open source methods such as OpenELIS or OpenMRS
D) Mobile devices such as the iPhone

Question 7

Which social and political challenges impact public health informatics? (Select all that apply.)

A) The limits of federal authority
B) The evolution of public health primarily as state and local functions
C) The lack of resources to implement health IT
D) The presence of standards to implement health IT
E) The lack of network infrastructure

Question 8

Blueprint Version 2.0 updates public health surveillance activities for the 21st century. Which methods exemplify these activities? (Select all that apply.)

A) Analysis of population data to describe disease characteristics and risk factors
B) Analysis of electronic health record data
C) Biomonitoring and environmental monitoring
D) Analysis of individual data to describe disease characteristics and risk factors
E) Birth and death certificate reporting to states

Question 9

Informatics opportunities for reportable conditions include: (Select all that apply.)

A) enabling the use of computable logic to define where and how reports should be sent.
B) automation of patient education from electronic health records.
C) automation of information extraction from electronic health records.
D) improving standardization of message structure and content for reporting.
E) creating public health information systems to receive case reports.

Question 10

Immunization information systems are used to record at least some of the immunizations for about 75% of children in the United States. Which benefits are provided by the use of these systems? (Select all that apply.)

A) A high return on investment
B) The ability to provide consolidated immunization histories to avoid over- or under-vaccinating
C) The ability to improve vaccination rates by integrating data across the country
D) Integration across nations
E) Cutting by 50% the updating of vaccine schedules