Public Health Informatics: The Intersection of Data and Health

Measuring, promoting, and advocating for public health on a global and local scale is no easy feat—but it can make a huge impact on communities around the world. When making decisions, public health professionals must utilise data collected systematically and accurately to improve patient care, allocate resources, and design effective interventions. 

Since the adoption of electronic health records (EHR), data has increasingly been at the forefront of healthcare technology. During the COVID-19 pandemic, EHR-based rapid screening processes, documentation templates for emergency room testing, and reporting tools, helped track and monitor the virus in hospitals [1]. 

Public health informatics, also called health informatics, operates at the intersection of public health, data analytics, computer science, and communication. In this article, explore what public health informatics is and how this field applies in modern day contexts.

What is public health informatics?

Public health informatics, or health informatic, is the systematic application of data, technology, and information systems to public health practice and research. Focusing on community and population health, it tackles disease treatment and prevention as well as examining the role of government agencies in public health.

Public health informatics can help improve the efficiency, accuracy, and distribution of health care, ensure communities have equal access to basic human needs like food, shelter, transportation, and employment, and prevent major diseases.

5 steps to creating a public health information system

Although the healthcare systems in India and the United States differ in many ways, envisioning possibilities here can be easier when looking through the lens of how the US operates in this arena. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a leading public health institute in the US, public health informatics professionals can use five key steps to create a public health information system [2].

1. Vision and system planning: What types of information technology (IT) systems will you use? Do you need hardware, software, or communication technology? 

2. Health data standards and integration: How will you ensure health data standards and integration are followed? 

3. Data privacy and security: What systems can help ensure data privacy and security throughout the data lifecycle?

4. Systems design and implementation: What methods and information technology can professionals implement to optimise data, data flow, and outputs for public health functions?

5. Visualisation, analysis, and reporting of health data: Using a combination of analytics software, business intelligence, and public health practice, what types of reporting and analysis will make the most meaningful use of the data collected? How can professionals report health statistics and information to the public in an accessible manner?

Examples of public health informatics

Public health informatics tends to be implemented at the national, state, or local level by health agencies that collect data for specific health concerns. You can see the impact of public health informatics in various areas, such as:

Decreasing the spread of infectious diseases 

Health care organisations, in partnership with government or academic medical institutions, often collect and analyse birth records to provide reliable statistics to health departments and policymakers. In this position, you will also use this information to improve birth outcomes, identify mortality trends, and decrease the spread of infectious diseases.

Bettering patient diagnosis and treatment

By using digital patient profiles, including background, medical history, lab results, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), and more, medical practitioners can provide more accurate diagnoses, monitor patient adherence to treatment plans, identify at-risk patients, and personalise care based on individual patient characteristics. 

Increasing access for rural communities: 

In areas with lower resources, communities often face challenges accessing public health systems, particularly in rural areas. Modern technological solutions help to bridge this gap, such as mobile phone and internet surveillance efforts, digital health hubs, and community partnerships. By leveraging public health informatics, policymakers can identify high-risk areas that benefit from these interventions in order to make more impactful, cost-effective decisions.

Improving public health reporting

EHRs help organisations collect standardised and systematic data, thereby improving reporting and surveillance. Electronic laboratory reporting helps transmit data to public health officials, so they can better monitor and prevent disease. In India, the use of EHRs is not yet mainstream. Still, governmental organisations have been making strides over the last decade to more widely utilise medical reporting and record sharing, including the development of the “Electronic Health Record Standards for India” committee, which the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare developed in 2013 and later revised in 2016 [3].

Strengthening health infrastructure:

Public health informatics has significantly contributed to building India’s health infrastructure by identifying gaps in healthcare services. The National Health Mission (NHM) uses data to allocate resources, identify areas that need targeted support, and analyse trends to help reduce health disparities through political and health interventions.

Geographic analysis: 

You can use data to combat environmental disasters and bioterrorism threats. Using a geographic information system (GIS), professionals can collect and analyse data to reveal trends and patterns in specific locations.

Careers in public health informatics

Many jobs exist within the scope of public health informatics. As you explore this field, consider a few of the following careers and see how you might use public health informatics professionally.

Clinical data manager: 

Average annual salary: ₹6.3 Lakhs [4]

Clinical data managers collect data from medical research projects and manage the information so it is reported securely and accurately. In this position, you’ll help maintain quality standards throughout the process, including annotation, database design, data entry and validation, and managing errors in coding and reporting.

Healthcare informatics nurse: 

Average annual salary: ₹2.4 Lakhs [5]

An informatics nurse is typically a registered nurse who helps manage complex health information in hospitals, ambulatory clinics, academic settings, and home care. You will guide data workflows, including automated scheduling and budgeting, digitised patient care, and new technology to improve workflow and patient outcomes.

Chief medical information officer (CMIO): 

Average annual salary: Ranges from ₹87.3 Lakhs to ₹111.6 Lakhs [6]

This leadership role bridges the medical and IT departments within a healthcare organisation. You could be a physician taking on the role of technology implementation or a health informatics specialist that moved up in the organisation by creating efficient data processes and systems. Whilst this role does not have a clear definition, CMIOs should lead the development of the next generation of health systems, including how to leverage health informatics to make the biggest impact within healthcare organisations.

How to begin in public health informatics

Due to the range of possible careers within public health informatics, your approach to getting started depends on where you fall on the spectrum of public health versus data analytics.

In some cases, you can find formal programmes in Health Informatics, such as a Post Graduate Diploma in Healthcare Informatics or Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Health Information Management. If you have already received formal training in a different area and would like to further develop your informatics skills or switch fields, you can consider a postgraduate degree such as the Master of Science (MSc) in Health Informatics. 

Because of the technical nature of health informatics, you can also choose to study a technical field and later apply your skills to a health context. If you excel at solving problems on data analytics software and building information systems, then you might consider building your credentials in informatics with a bachelor’s degree, postgraduate degree, or Professional Certificate in data analytics or computer science.

Continue exploring public health informatics

Public health informatics is a cross-section of computer science, information science, and health care. Its applications help to stop the spread of infectious disease, improve patient care, and provide medical access across communities.

Learn the essentials of health IT and big data by immersing yourself in this dynamic and rapidly growing field with a course like Johns Hopkins University’s Health Informatics Specialisation. You’ll learn about health informatics's social and technical context, how to implement health informatics interventions, and much more.

If you’re more excited to dive into the data aspect of public health informatics, then consider Google’s Data Analytics Professional Certificate. Whether you decide to stick to health or not, these skills will be transferable to many careers.