Issues and opportunities in public health informatics: a panel discussion.

A panel was convened at the American Medical Informatics Association Spring Congress to discuss issues and opportunities that arise when informatics methods, theories, and applications are applied to public health functions. Panelists provided examples of applications that connect efforts between public health and clinical care, emphasizing the need for integration of clinical data with public health data and the analysis of those data to support surveillance and informed decision making. Benefits to be gained by both medical informatics and public health at the interface were evident; both encounter the same major issues including privacy, systems integration, standards, and many more.