SURVEILLANCE, EPIDEMIOlogical,
and laboratory data are
essential to the practice of public
health, particularly at the state
and local level.1 Public health
practitioners within government
agencies use data to identify new
cases of disease and to make decisions
about when to apply public
health interventions. The exchange
of information between health offi-
cials in different jurisdictions has
been demonstrated to be essential
to managing outbreaks of wellunderstood
diseases, such as measles,
and identifying and responding
to new and emerging threats, such
as severe acute respiratory syndrome
and pandemic influenza A
(H1N1). However, the very developments
in information technology
and health care policy that
make it increasingly possible to
rapidly transmit health information,
such as electronic medical
records and health information
exchanges, continue to raise
questions about the possible inappropriate
use and lack of protection
of personally identifiable
health information.2---4
In highly charged situations,
such as the recent influenza A
(H1N1) pandemic, variations in
state laws and incomplete understanding
among jurisdictions can
easily lead to inconsistent public
health disclosure practices, resulting
in media questions about the
integrity of information access
policies.5,6 Clearly, consideration
should now be given to a more
cohesive approach to public health
information sharing