MDI Connect
Background
Medical examiner and coroner offices conduct medicolegal death investigations (MDIs) to determine the cause and manner of sudden unexpected deaths. MDI offices play a crucial role in monitoring emergent and routine public health issues and collecting data that contributes to saving lives.
Increasing deaths from drug overdoses, suicides, homicides and more have resulted in MDI offices with record caseloads. Likewise, outdated methods of sharing MDI data, like faxing and paper-based systems, are inefficient and resource-intensive. Manual data entry at each agency may lead to errors and delay public health’s ability to use the data for response.
Through collaboration with data sharing partners, software vendors and others, MDI offices are implementing standards-based data exchange. Through the automation of workflows and integration of data sources, electronic information exchange is improving the timeliness and completeness of death investigation. Modernizing MDI data practices improves public health’s ability to monitor evolving health trends and create data-driven interventions to save lives without increasing burden on these offices.
MDI Connect can help.
MDI Connect is a forum for medical examiners’ and coroners’ offices, their data sharing partners and software vendors to work with their peers and subject matter experts to design, build and test standards-based data exchange practices. Using the data standard FHIR®—Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, pronounced “fire”—allows for both scalability and information sharing across partners from public health, public safety, toxicology and health systems using a defined set of tools. MDI Connect is dedicated to advancing solutions that simplify data sharing between MDI offices and their partners. Scalable solutions will reduce inefficiencies, decrease the amount of staff time needed in an MDI office to exchange data and minimize duplicative reporting processes. These solutions could also improve how toxicology results are reported and providing data to state vital records offices and other public health surveillance systems.
LEARN MORE
MDI Connect provides support.
A LEARNING COLLABORATIVE
Engage in peer-to-peer networking and learning activities. MDI offices and others share insights on data-exchange practices in virtual and in-person forums.
AN INCUBATOR FOR INNOVATIVE PROJECTS
Form data sharing partnerships to implement standards-based data exchange and design innovative solutions in a real-world setting.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE HUB
Discuss implementation challenges and receive support with standards-based data exchange and information technology adoption through office hours, virtual testing events and more.
Explore real-world examples of MDI data exchange projects currently being implemented.
Explore the playlist highlighting MDI data exchange projects.
MDI Connect collaborates.
Public health, public safety, health care and other agencies use MDI data daily to improve and coordinate efforts to save lives. Modernizing information technology can help build a mortality data ecosystem that provides more timely health surveillance without increasing the burden on MDI offices.
MDI Connect is also coordinating with the broader MDI community to build awareness of this data modernization initiative. Professional organizations such as the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) and the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners (IACME) actively support and promote MDI Connect to address the pressing need for streamlined data-sharing across multiple agencies.
MDI Connect innovates.
MDI offices and Case Management System (CMS) vendors are developing and testing data sharing solutions between various systems and stakeholders including:
- Electronic Death Registration System (EDRS)
- Toxicology Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS)
- National/State Violent Death Reporting System (N/SVDRS)
- State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS)
- Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program (ODMAP)
- MDI CMS and other surveillance systems, data systems or public facing dashboards
- Organ Procurement Organization (OPO)
MDI Connect Participation and Funding Questions
1. How do I get involved with MDI Connect?
MDI Connect provides content and materials for participants to learn about data modernization, including standards-based data exchange, application programming interface (APIs) and other topics related to their projects. To learn more:
- Join the MDI Connect mailing list
- Contact an MDI Connect participating site
- Contact the CDC Foundation MDI Connect team
2. How can I apply for funding?
The CDC Foundation shares announcements on the Requests for Proposals page. Join the MDI Connect mailing list for announcements about future funding opportunities if available.
3. Do I have to be an active awardee to participate?
No. While most of the participating sites in MDI Connect are funded projects, assistance is also provided to MDI offices that are working on similar data exchange cases but may have different funding sources. MDI Connect collaborates with Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and others to provide technical assistance.
4. We participated in the past and have ideas for new use cases. Can we be funded again?
Each funding announcement has its own conditions and restrictions. The opportunity to participate in additional grant-funded projects with CDC Foundation will be contingent on funds received from the CDC and other donors. Future opportunities may allow previously funded MDI offices to submit applications for funding.
This project is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $2,726,393.00 with 57 percentage funded by CDC/HHS through Medical Examiner and Coroner Data Modernization Implementer's Group and $2,097,363.00 and 43 percentage funded by non-government source(s). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CDC/HHS or the U.S. Government.
Public Health Data Strategy Workforce Acceleration
The Schuchat Berger Excellence in Leadership Award Fund
Established by Dr. Anne Schuchat and Ms. Sherri Berger, this fund provides an annual award to one U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) employee (GS-14+ level) who has demonstrated outstanding leadership, consistent with the CDC-ATSDR Honor Awards criteria for the Excellence in Leadership Award, which recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exceptional personal leadership capabilities (through outstanding acts, services or achievements), exemplify commitment to CDC’s mission and represent the next generation of CDC leaders.
Medicolegal Death Investigation Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources Implementation Collaborative
Medicolegal death investigations (MDIs), conducted by medical examiner and coroner offices, are crucial to understanding causes of deaths, monitoring evolving health challenges and ultimately saving lives. Funding and resources increase the ability for MDI offices to collaborate with internal and external data sharing partners to send and receive this integral information.
To transform the MDI data landscape and reduce the resources needed by an MDI office to collaborate with data sharing partners, CDC is prioritizing data modernization. Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®) is a standard created for healthcare data exchange. This standard can be used to achieve bi-directional exchange of data between MDI systems and data sharing partners. FHIR® improves data exchange while simultaneously reducing the burden of data entry.
During this initiative, selected MDI offices work collaboratively with other MDI offices, data sharing partners, vendors and FHIR® subject matter experts to use FHIR®-based data exchange to improve the efficiency of data transmission between MDI offices and data sharing partners.
Modernizing MDI data practices improves MDI office’s ability to investigate deaths, improves public health’s ability to monitor evolving health trends and creates data driven interventions to save lives without increasing burden on these offices.
Our collaborating sites:
- Alabama: Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner’s Office
- Alaska: Alaska State Medical Examiner’s Office
- Georgia: DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office
- Illinois: Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office
- Indiana: Marion County Coroner's Office
- Michigan: Sparrow Office of Medical Examiner
- Michigan: Wayne State University-Wayne County Office of the Medical Examiner
- Minnesota: Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office
- Mississippi: Mississippi Department of Public Safety
- Nevada: Clark County Office of The Coroner/Medical Examiner
- Ohio: Butler County Coroner's Office
- Pennsylvania: York County Coroner's Office
- South Carolina: Charleston County Coroner’s Office
- South Carolina: Greenville County Coroner's Office
This program is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $2,726,393 with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CDC/HHS or the U.S. Government.
