Associations Between Hospital Structural Characteristics and Adoption of Public Health Data Integration and...

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Public Health Surveillance
• Health Information Technology

Background:

• Effective healthcare delivery and public health surveillance rely on public health data integration and automation systems.
• Factors influencing hospital adoption and implementation of these systems are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how hospital characteristics affect the adoption of public health data integration and automation.
• To identify key hospital attributes associated with successful implementation of public health reporting systems.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 2277 hospitals using the 2023 American Hospital Association Annual Survey and its Health Information Technology supplement.
• Focus on 6 public health reporting categories and multivariable logistic regression to assess associations between hospital characteristics and electronic data submission/automated processes.

Main Results:

• System-affiliated and not-for-profit hospitals showed higher adoption rates for electronic data submission and automated reporting.
• Rural hospitals exhibited lower adoption rates for immunization, public health, and clinical data registries.
• Larger hospitals and teaching hospitals demonstrated increased engagement in specific reporting categories like syndromic surveillance and clinical data registries.

Conclusions:

• Hospital system affiliation, ownership, and location are critical factors in public health data integration and automation capabilities.
• Disparities in adoption exist, necessitating targeted interventions for smaller and rural facilities to ensure equitable public health reporting infrastructure.