NSSP Data Sharing Workshop Series 

The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hosted four regional data sharing workshops to improve the sustained use of shared data on the BioSense Platform managed by the National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP). The purpose of the data sharing workshop series was to strengthen public health agency capacity for syndromic surveillance (SyS) and enhance situational awareness using real-time electronic health data from emergency department (ED) settings through interjurisdictional data sharing and surveillance practice collaborations.

The workshops were designed and facilitated by Kahuina Consulting, LLC to guide participating jurisdictions on a structured path of realizing the value of data sharing, appreciating that value, and utilizing the value through continued regional projects that rely on access to and utilization of shared data in the NSSP BioSense Platform.

Workshop objectives included:

1. To enhance syndromic surveillance skills to better support agency activities for opioid crisis response
2. To examine and share best practices in SyS analytic methods and NSSP tool use
3. To develop action steps for establishing or strengthening interjurisdictional data sharing
4. To foster collaborations among the peer network of SyS professionals

Regional Reports: South + East, Northeast, West, Midwest

Overall Series Report: Series Report

NSSP Regional Data Sharing Workshop Series National Capstone

CSTE, in collaboration with the CDC, concluded the 2019 regional data sharing workshop series with acapstone event highlighting accomplishments and further exploring the utility, legality, and  processes for sustaining data sharing among NSSP sites. The capstone event demonstrated the value of data sharing through presentations of regional data sharing activities:

• On-going cross-border opioid surveillance project (South and East outcome)
• Communication toolkit to influence decision makers (Northeast outcome)
• Inter-site data sharing process (West outcome)
• Requirements for a hub-and-spoke data use agreement (DUA) (Midwest outcome)

National Capstone Report: Capstone Report