Prior to 1985, Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) did not have an effective way to communicate or coordinate outbreak responses with local health departments. The salmonella outbreak in 1985 was the impetus to create the Public Health Information Network (PHIN). This was a dial up solution and was strictly email. Improvements to the PHIN system included moving to a web based email server for remote connection. This brought local health departments into the central email system, but not into the wide area network.

In May 1999, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issue a grant for bioterrorism preparedness and response. Within this grant was funding to establish and maintain a network that will support exchange of key information over the Internet, training of health workers, assurance of organizational capacity to respond to bioterrorism and other urgent needs caused by health treats, and provide for rapid dissemination of public health advisories to the news media and the public at large. Funding through this grant enabled IDPH to take the next step toward integration of the entire public health community in a single computer network. The IDPH HAN is not only computers, wires and routers, but it is communications, plans of action, distance learning and most importantly networking people.

What features were originally part of the HAN implementation?

The initial implementation of HAN included the design and implementation of a frame relay network which connects every local health department's administrative office to the IDPH Wide Area Network (WAN). Prior to receiving CDC funding, the Illinois Public Health System had 28 satellite downlink facilities throughout the state. The CDC HAN funding allowed IDPH to nearly double this capability by increasing the number of local health departments with their own satellite equipment to 55 with 10 more to be added this year. It is estimated that most public health employees will be no more than forty-five minutes from a satellite down link facility. Additionally, IDPH has established a video conferencing capacity that will enable the remote classrooms, project collaboration, and virtually anything else that formerly could only be done face to face. Also, IDPH contracted with the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health to developed a curriculum to certify public health administrators in the State of Illinois. This course was the first piece of distance learning we employed within the public health community.

What is the current status of the HAN implementation?

IDPH in conjunction with several of our technology partners has continued to improve the infrastructure that has become the HAN. Currently, each of our local health departments has a minimum of a 56K persistent connection to the Internet with roughly a third having a high speed broadband (384Kbps or greater) connection. IDPH has provided technology grants to all local health departments and some hospitals. These grants are to bolster and build up the HAN and the Hospital Health Alert Network (HHAN) infrastructure. IDPH is building local area networks where there none, leasing high speed broadband Internet connections and improving speed and reliability through the health community. Additionally, IDPH decided to migrate to a more dynamic, flexible and faster Internet-based network using Internet portal technology. This initiative will allow secure access to health alert information for the public health workforce and their partners. This will allow connectivity from any spot on the globe that has Internet access. The first version of the web portal is in place and being used today.

What is the future of the HAN?

The next phase being implemented over the next two months will coexist seamlessly with the current system and the transition will be transparent to the users. Included in HAN/HHAN are mass notifications that use blast fax, email, pagers, auto-dialers with recorded messages and instant messaging. Epidemiological record keeping and surveillance, self undatable directory information, windows and web-based applications including the Illinois National Electronic Data Surveillance System (INEDSS) are among the many features that are planned for the HAN and HHAN. We will be streaming audio and video allowing education, workforce development, and eventually video conferencing to the desk top.