Delaware School-Based Health Centers

In partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), the Delaware School-Based Health Center (SBHC) Data Interoperability and Sharing Cooperative (DISCO) connects a statewide network of school-based health centers (SBHCs) and myriad data sources to associated data interoperability solutions while recognizing larger public health problems and concerns.

DISCO will align the Delaware SBHC strategic plan to the Apex SBHC Data Hub ecosystem using a phased approach of planning, onboarding, and implementing to address technical, procedural, and humanistic data interoperability challenges across the five uses cases that define the Data Hub:

1. Establishing organizational and user access permissions governed by Business Associate Agreements and other data sharing agreements;

2. Integrating existing data sources including from Electronic Health Records (EHRs);

3. Collecting new information such as screening data on social determinants of health;

4. Linking data at the most granular level feasible; and

5. Producing reports for different audiences and purposes, including data visualizations. This includes assessing technical capabilities, forging on the ground relationships with providers, IT staff, and other data stakeholders.

A major goal of the project is to achieve interoperability between the Apex Data Hub and the data systems utilized by the Delaware SBHC sponsoring organizations. FHIR resources are being investigated and tested with the goal of creating more efficiency in data collection and management.