551: New Website Examines Public Health Priorities, Advocacy Drives Alzheimer’s Policy

ROBERT JOHNSON: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Monday, November 27, 2023. I'm Robert Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

MARCUS PLESCIA: 

As much as possible, we want to be doing things we know there's a strong evidence base for, and we know if states can implement them, they'll make a big difference.

JOHNSON: 

ASTHO unveils a new webpage with a collection of evidence-based technical packages covering overdose, community health workers, equity, and other key public health concerns. This is ASTHO Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Marcus Plescia.

PLESCIA: 

So, we're asking our staff to really think about, you know, on your list of effective things, where are the ones that you think ASTHO can make the biggest difference and how do we prioritize those and really try to move the bar on those in the states and territories that we work with?

JOHNSON: 

Plescia, a former state health official wants members to check the site for issues that might be missing from their agenda.

PLESCIA: 

Well, first of all, I would look to see, you know, are these things that ASTHO is defining and prioritizing? Are they on my list of priorities? I mean, Am I thinking about how I can provide leadership and try to move some of those kinds of strategies forward? If they're not on my list, I have a good hard look at why not and think about how we could get them on the list.

JOHNSON: 

He also wants states and territories to take advantage of ASTHO's expertise.

PLESCIA: 

And then, the second thing is I would really talk to my leadership team about what ASTHO feels like they can be really helpful with and ask them to engage further with the ASTHO staff about really trying to move some of those things forward, particularly if they're places where the state hasn't necessarily been making progress. You can

JOHNSON: 

You can visit the new ASTHO webpage using the link in the show notes.

The drive to improve data sharing between public health and providers is underway. Much of the work is being facilitated by the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, also known as TEFCA. ASTHO's J.T. Lane says TEFCA has been in the works since 2016 and promises to revolutionize data communication.

J.T. LANE: 

It will allow and help state governments and local public health agencies, as well as, by extension CDC, HHS, and and the president ways to improve access to population health data. So, the line of sight, we have real-time time on both case rates, vaccination rates, hospital bed capacity, and availability. These are all essential for both national and local decision-making.

JOHNSON: 

Lane says TEFCA also will benefit Medicaid programs and emergency preparedness.

LANE: 

Why EMS and hospital trauma networks the type of data they're getting during the middle of an emergency will be much more rapid, real-time, and complete by having this common framework of how we exchange data.

JOHNSON: 

ASTHO has a new blog article about TEFCA now online. There's a link in the show notes.

Also, today, Alzheimer's advocates say 2023 has been a historic and exciting year. Daphne Delgado is with UsAgainstAlzheimer's.

DAPHNE DELGADO: 

The FDA approved a drug that slows the progression of the disease, and we helped lead the Alzheimer's community in convincing Medicare to cover disease modifying treatments and additionally, Medicare announced that they will now cover more than one PET scan in a person's lifetime, which is really key for diagnosing and monitoring the disease.

JOHNSON: 

Delgado says these actions are evidence that advocacy is key.

DELGADO: 

I think that further highlights public health's important work in community-level primary prevention efforts, and why it's so important for community members and families and patients to talk about Alzheimer's because there are things that we can all do to reduce our risk and if caught early enough, even slow the progression of the disease.

JOHNSON: 

November is Alzheimer's Awareness Month. Read more about it using the link in the show notes.

Before we go, we'd like to remind you to follow this newscast on your podcast player and ASTHO on social media. We're on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. That'll do it for today.

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.