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Beth Giambrone, ASTHO’s Senior Analyst of State Health Policy, says the EPA has proposed regulations on certain forever chemicals; Jamie Pina, ASTHO’s Vice President of Public Health Data Modernization, explains how artificial intelligence (AI) can be a public health tool;...
Beth Giambrone, ASTHO’s Senior Analyst of State Health Policy, says the EPA has proposed regulations on certain forever chemicals; Jamie Pina, ASTHO’s Vice President of Public Health Data Modernization, explains how artificial intelligence (AI) can be a public health tool; ASTHO has a new Congenital Syphilis Technical Package; and sign up for ASTHO’s Public Health Weekly email newsletter.
ASTHO Webpage: AI in Public Health—ASTHO Has Entered the Chat
ASTHO Webinar: Artificial Intelligence in State and Territorial Public Health
ASTHO Webpage: Effective Public Health Approaches to Reducing Congenital Syphilis
ROBERT JOHNSON:
This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Wednesday, August 16, 2023. I'm Robert Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
BETH GIAMBRONE:
Last week, ASTHO, the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, and the Environmental Council of the States, sent a letter to President Biden regarding PFAS.
JOHNSON:
ASTHO is taking action on the issue of PFAS, also known as forever chemicals. ASTHO's Beth Giambrone says they are found in everyday consumer products and can cause serious health problems.
GIAMBRONE:
What they are, are synthetic chemicals that are used in a lot of household products like nonstick cookware, and in clothing. And during production and afterwards, those chemicals can actually migrate into the environment and they remain there without breaking down which gives it the name that you might hear, called forever chemicals.
JOHNSON:
ASTHO is tracking an EPA rulemaking that would change the regulations regarding these chemicals.
GIAMBRONE:
So, the EPA earlier this year released a proposed rule for PFAS and it's under the authority that they have in the Safe Drinking Water Act. And under that act, they have the authority to regulate the public drinking water supply in the United States. So, within that authority, they are looking to regulate six different PFAS chemicals and create what are called maximum contaminant levels.
JOHNSON:
Giambrone says 11 states have set their own maximum contaminant levels, but others are holding off for now.
GIAMBRONE:
There are a few reasons why other states are waiting. Some actually prohibit their agencies from setting maximum contaminant levels that are more stringent than a federal one. So, in the absence of a federal standard, they might hesitate to establish one that could be invalidated. In a lot of other cases in states that there is a lack of resources and capacity to be able to set and enforce a PFAS standard.
JOHNSON:
You can read ASTHO's letter to the president using the link in the show notes.
Artificial intelligence is becoming more available. ASTHO's Jamie Pina says there are many ways AI can assist people working in public health.
JAMIE PINA:
There are some that can manage diagnostic models that use AI. And they demonstrate really high accuracy in diagnosing disease. They are also image processing tools that can detect medical conditions for medical images. And moreover, there's new policy that's governing or proposed policy that's governing the use of AI in health care across a broad spectrum of activities.
JOHNSON:
He says a survey of ASTHO members reveals many already have found ways to apply AI to their daily work.
PINA:
And we learned that about 35% of those that responded are using artificially intelligent tools in their work currently, and the primary use of those tools focused on content generation. So, generating text for reports, first draft communications, and job descriptions, as well as generating programming code for various applications.
JOHNSON:
Pina says agencies have even more ideas about how to best use AI to support their ongoing public health operations.
PINA:
Things like writing activities, data collection, data entry, and analysis of data. We also heard from others that suggested that we could improve the quality of healthcare information using AI, to identify erroneous data or missing data, and that we can use AI for things like anomaly detection, and help to identify risks or potential disasters that are about to occur.
JOHNSON:
Pina will lead a webinar about AI and public health on Tuesday, August 22. You can sign up using the link in the show notes.
Also today, as syphilis rates across the U.S. continue to rise, ASTHO has resources to help its members respond. O'Keyla Cooper has more.
O'KEYLA COOPER:
Congenital syphilis cases in the U.S. have surged, more than tripling from 2017 to 2021, posing risk of stillbirth and long term health problems. ASTHO offers a policy-focused technical package for states to address this crisis, focusing on interventions during pregnancy. You can learn more about ASTHO's Congenital Syphilis Technical Package by clicking the link in the show notes.
ROBERT JOHNSON:
Finally, this morning, get the latest news on public health delivered direct to your email inbox when you sign up for ASTHO's Public Health Weekly email newsletter. The link to join the list is in the show notes.
And if you have a minute, please take the time to give us a review. We'd like to know what you think.
That will do it for today's newscast. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Robert Johnson. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.
