1186: Building the U.S. Disease Tracker: A New Model for Public Health Data Sharing

JOHN SHEEHAN: 

This is Public Health Review Morning Edition for Thursday, August 13, 2026. I'm John Sheehan for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

 

Reliable disease surveillance requires trusted partnerships, shared standards, and transparent access to information. Today, Illinois Department of Public Health Chief Transformation Officer Massimo Pacilli explains how the new U.S. Disease Tracker is bringing together state health agencies, national public health organizations, and academic partners to strengthen disease surveillance.

 

MASSIMO PACILLI: 

The project really came about in response to two main needs. First, in the context of changes at the federal level, the U.S. Disease Tracker provides a system for data sharing to ensure sustained access to accurate data on vaccine-preventable diseases and eventually other conditions as well that is really complementary to federally supported data systems. And additionally, the project really also ensures that data that is consolidated from available public sources is validated, is standardized so that it can appropriately reflect the state data and the national picture. So, what makes the project unique is that it's really built through direct collaborations between state public health agencies, national public health organizations, and academic partners to launch it. And it really complements that which is available at the federal system by including data that's directly submitted by participating states.

 

SHEEHAN: 

Gotcha. And so, since this is a collaboration, as you mentioned, across state agencies, but across academia, public health departments, why was it important that Illinois participate?

 

PACILLI:

Yeah, so in Illinois, we recognized early that participating really provided an important opportunity to help shape the approach to the project. We participated as a pilot jurisdiction during the initial phase of development. We serve on the steering committee, and our subject matter experts contribute through the technical advisory committee. So really, along with other states, our participation ensured that the perspective and the needs of state public health were reflected in data sharing mechanisms, in the design of the platform. So, it also promoted this valuable peer-to-peer shared learning among epidemiologists, informaticians, and surveillance SMEs, that really across the states, then encourage alignment to data sharing approaches, even in the context of our unique jurisdictional contexts. Additionally, our involvement in the pilot phase also helped catalyze the development of our own statewide, public-facing infectious disease dashboard, and that really expanded access of Illinois data to over 40 reportable infectious diseases. And so, this is the work that sort of aligned with our own strategic priorities to modernize our public health systems and foster that public trust through the transparent, accessible information around infectious disease.

 

SHEEHAN: 

Sure. And could you expand on that: sort of the benefits to public health agencies? I think it's pretty clear how the project itself, the overall big picture, benefits by having so many agencies sort of contributing their expertise and their data, but what are the benefits to individual departments?

 

PACILLI: 

Yeah, there's some both immediate and long-term benefits. I think first agencies have the opportunity to share the direction of the platform and help establish the standards around public sharing. And really, that technical advisory committee participation, in that space, agencies can influence the governance, the reporting approaches, how we go about the business of sharing our data. And then, again, this peer-to-peer learning and collaboration is key, and so public health agencies face many of the same challenges around surveillance, modernizing our systems, and communicating with the public. And so the US Disease Tracker creates a community of practice where agencies can really sort of share solutions and learn from one another. And overall, the participation also ensures that here we have a trusted platform that amplifies state validated information that we sustain directly in each of our jurisdictions. And thinking more long term, what would you say are the outcomes, or the beneficial outcomes, five, ten years out? Yeah, I think at the national level, the project really has the potential to strengthen the resilience of our public health data ecosystem by creating additional pathways for sharing timely and reliable surveillance information. It demonstrates that public health agencies, national organizations, and academic institutions can really work together to improve this access to public data. And as the participation grows its membership and the list of conditions that are reflected in the tracker, the platform will really provide situational awareness across our jurisdictions to really enhance outbreak detection and response in addition to communications. I'd also say that we continue to have opportunity to explore increased automation between the tracker and the data that exists at our state settings. So, all of this in service of modernizing our systems, reducing manual processing, improving efficiencies, and having a redundant sort of resilient system where we reflect this important information and communicate it to the public.

 

SHEEHAN: 

Absolutely. And as the project continues and as you continue to get that clean data, it just creates more and more opportunities for, as you mentioned, you know, identifying trends and being able to, you know, create those automations throughout this clean data.

 

PACILLI: 

That's right. And I think ultimately, there's really the greatest benefit is that increased public trust, right? When people have access to accurate, transparent, and timely information, they're better equipped to make informed decisions about their health and the health of their community. So, all of this is in service of that outcome.

 

SHEEHAN: 

Any final thoughts regarding the tracker?

 

PACILLI: 

Maybe just to underscore the collaboration component of the project. It really brings together multiple partners around their shared goal of this making high-quality public health information more accessible and actionable. So, Illinois is sort of proud to have helped shape this effort from the beginning and remain committed to advancing these innovative approaches to disease surveillance and public health data sharing.

 

SHEEHAN: 

Well, Massimo Pacilli, thanks so much.

 

PACILLI: 

Thank you.

 

SHEEHAN: 

Massimo Pacilli is Illinois Department of Public Health chief transformation officer.

 

Infectious Disease Prevention and Control is a core responsibility of state and territorial public health agencies. These agencies implement interventions, policies, and programs to protect individuals, communities, and even the economy. ASTHO is committed to supporting the infectious disease prevention efforts of its members and other public health and healthcare professionals, with expert insights on the latest information and innovations in the field. Learn more at the link in the show notes.

 

Immunization remains one of the most effective tools in public health, protecting against preventable diseases, mitigating outbreaks, and reducing long-term healthcare costs. To inform a forward-looking roadmap for immunization leadership over the next 5 years, ASTHO engaged national immunization partners and health officials. The resulting resource, part of the Health Policy Update series, highlights priorities, strategies, and coordinated actions to consider for strengthening immunization programs nationwide. Learn more at the link in the show notes.

 

This has been Public Health Review Morning Edition. I'm John Sheehan for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.