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The demands of the COVID-19 pandemic have challenged the healthcare sector in recent years to meet the diverse and growing needs of the public. Many of these needs have solutions that can only be met through agency information technology systems.
“For us, what was important during COVID-19 was how quickly we could take advantage of the growing cloud capabilities. We launched a data analysis and visualization platform. In partnership with Microsoft, we quickly launched a COVID-19 bot on our website to help the public determine what they need to do for their COVID-19 symptoms, and , rapidly deployed border health monitoring capabilities, also all powered by the cloud,” said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deputy chief information officer. Jason Bonander. The executive shared his thoughts at a recent event hosted by GovCon Wire.
Data management and replacement of legacy systems were the main themes that emerged in this discussion between medical technology professionals in the private and public sectors. of GCW 2nd Healthcare IT – Digital Transformation Forum Featured Leidos Health Group Vice President Bobby Saxon As moderator of the “Next Challenges of Modernization” panel. Raidos was also the platinum sponsor of the May 17 event. core 4ce and silver sponsor Unanet.
In case you missed the event, you can watch the full discussion here.You can also browse and register for his upcoming GCW events here and members of the sister service, the Potomac Officers Club here.
Bonander went on to say that at this point, the cloud is a natural “core infrastructure” rather than a rebellious modernization method. Still, he said, it offers “evergreen potential” that the CDC is still mining in its post-pandemic efforts, prompting the CDC to recognize that it “must radically modernize and change its ways.” said that [they] How and where to develop applications [they] Host those applications. He said they are rapidly reworking and reimagining their product.
Fellow panelist Dr. Susan MonaresA deputy director of the Department of Health’s Advanced Research Projects Agency, she reported that her organization had the distinct advantage of being brand new and having no legacy systems to overturn. Monares said the government’s progress in medical technology should not end up taking 10 to 20 years to come to fruition in 3 to 5 years with innovative tools and strategies. said that was the goal. Year.
That’s why ARPA-H is breaking new ground in that space, Monares said.
“How can we take the core concepts of the health ecosystem we’re talking about, from the molecule to the society, and think about problems in a way that’s radically different from how people have thought about them?” Let’s see… how do we actually do it? Why don’t we start addressing these problems in ways that have never been done before?” Monares explained the idea of an R&D hub.
When Saxon asked panelists about how the organization supports decision support, Bonander said the large amount of data the CDC receives and processes is used by “state and local health care partners” as well as He said it would turn it into “actionable insights” in a way that also benefits “state and local health care partners.” an average citizen. ”
“Data is the lifeblood of public health,” said Bonander, while Monares said the prospect of creating serious ways to put data into action in the medical field would “get me pretty sleepless with excitement.” Told.
Core4ceCEO Jack Wilmer He noted the usefulness of artificial intelligence techniques in classifying large amounts of data to facilitate decision-making, but it is important to implement explainable AI where choices and decisions are readable to citizen users. also said.
Looking ahead, Wilmer, who previously worked for the Pentagon, said the government could actually be “incredibly forward-thinking” in its modernization and innovation practices, despite dissent. I believe there is. Specifically, he mentioned biomonitoring efforts where existing data is being leveraged in a productive way. Wilmer said such practices could also aid in the mission to predict or identify the next pandemic before it’s too late.