Individual Email to Infection Preventionists, Informatics Directors, and Others as Referred

Appendix J: Individual Email to Infection Preventionists, Informatics Directors, and Others as Referred

Send message 3-4 weeks after OMB approval [Date TBD pending OMB approval]

From: The Keystone Center, Project Contractor

To: Infection Preventionists, Health Informatics Directors, Clinic Directors, or other staff as referred in state HDs in the following states: Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

Subject: Health Department Access to EHRs in Healthcare Facilities -- Need your Response

Dear [Insert Name],

We are writing to ask you to participate in a 30-minute phone interview to better address the factors that affect health departments’ electronic health record (EHR) access in healthcare facilities like yours during healthcare-associated infection outbreaks (for example, the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.)

Through a cooperative agreement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) would like to learn about your experiences on granting access to EHRs in your facility to health departments. We are focusing on states that were most impacted by the healthcare-associated infection (HAI) fungal meningitis outbreak, but are also including states with experience responding to other HAI outbreaks, states that have addressed EHR access through legislation or other state policy, and states that are experienced using EHRs or are early adopters of health information exchanges.

We will be conducting 30-minute phone interviews to better understand the facilitators and barriers that affect EHR access. In addition to an assessment report, your responses will be used to build a toolkit to help state HDs address the perspectives and needs of the healthcare facilities related to EHR access. The toolkit will provide perceived barriers, recommendations to overcome those barriers, best practices that support EHR access, and practical tools such as templates, memorandums of understanding, and policies. The toolkit will be distributed to health departments, healthcare facilities, and other stakeholders to support awareness and strengthen relationships between public health and clinical care. These activities will facilitate the quick and efficient identification of cases in during outbreak investigations, and protect the health and safety of patients.

If you are willing to participate, please reply to this email within the week with the following information:

1. Two different dates, including times, in the next four weeks that would work best for you to participating in a phone interview

2. The best phone number to call for the interview

You will receive a confirmation email with the date and time of the interview. We will do our best to accommodate the date and time you suggested.

If you are unable to participate in the phone interview, please suggest someone with similar expertise that you feel would be able to provide information about HD EHR access in your facility.

If you have any questions about this project, please contact us at your earliest convenience.

We look forward to scheduling a time to talk with you soon.

Sincerely,

[Insert Name and Contact Information for The Keystone Center, Project Contractor]