A Platform for Monitoring Fiscal Health and Sustainability of the Public Health System

According to a new study titled, “The Public Health Uniform National Data System (PHUND$): A Platform for Monitoring Fiscal Health and Sustainability of the Public Health System,” published in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice on August 13, 2018, it states, “Leaders of government agencies are responsible for stewardship over taxpayer investments. Stewardship strengthens agency performance that is critical to improving population health. Most industries, including health care, and public enterprises, such as education, have policies for uniform data reporting and financial systems for the application of theoretical analytical techniques to organizations and entire systems. However, this is not a mainstreamed practice in local and state government public health.” This study is authored by Peggy A. Honoré, DHA, Professor, Health Policy and Systems Management , LSUHSC School of Public Health. The results of the study report, “Benefits found from utilizing PHUND$ included reducing financial risks, supporting requests for increased revenues, providing comparative analysis, isolating drivers of costs and deficits, increasing workforce financial management skills, enhancing decision-making processes, and fostering agency sustainability to support continuous improvements in quality and population health.”

The full study is published in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice on August 13, 2018 – Volume Publish Ahead of Print – Issue – p and can be read here or downloaded here. This study is co-authored in collaboration with Carlos Zometa, PhD, and Craig Thomas, PhD, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia and Ashley Edmiston, MPH from the National Association of County & City Health Officials, Washington, District of Columbia.

Dr. Honoré is the AmeriHealth Caritas – General Russel Honoré Endowed Professor at Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Sciences Center School of Public Health.