CHALLENGE: PHIN Strategic Plan (Step 1) - Mission

The first part of any strategic plan is the establishment of a mission statement. A mission statement is defined as follows:

"A mission statement is a formal short written statement of the purpose of an organization. The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a sense of direction, and guide decision-making."

The PHIN Web site provides a definition of PHIN:

The CDC Public Health Information Network (PHIN) is a national initiative to improve the capacity of public health to use and exchange information electronically by promoting the use of standards and defining functional and technical requirements.

PHIN strives to improve public health by enhancing research and practice through best practices related to efficient, effective, and interoperable public health information systems.

Mission statements from organizations with similar objectives to PHIN could be useful as well for comparison:

caBIG

caBIG was conceived to address the needs of all constituencies in the cancer community—researchers, clinicians, patients—to share data and knowledge, simplify collaboration, speed research to get diagnostics and therapeutics from bench to bedside faster and more cost-effectively, and ultimately realize the potential of Personalized Medicine. caBIG is a 21st century information initiative that will transform the way we do cancer research. We are creating a network that will freely connect the entire cancer community. In doing so, we are leveraging valuable resources and saving precious time toward new discoveries.

NHIN

The Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) is being developed to provide a secure, nationwide, interoperable health information infrastructure that will connect providers, consumers, and others involved in supporting health and healthcare. This critical part of the national health IT agenda will enable health information to follow the consumer, be available for clinical decision making, and support appropriate use of healthcare information beyond direct patient care so as to improve health.

ISE Purpose (Generic)

An Information Sharing Environment (ISE) links the resources (people, systems, databases, and information) of Federal, State, local, and tribal governments, the private sector, and other countries, to facilitate information sharing, access, and collaboration among stakeholders so that they can do their jobs more effectively.

PROPOSED PHIN Mission Statement (based on ISE Purpose)

The Public Health Information Network (PHIN) links the resources (people, systems, databases, and information) of Federal, State, local, and tribal governments, the private sector, and other countries, to facilitate information sharing, access, and collaboration among stakeholders in public health for the purpose of protecting and improving the public’s health more effectively and efficiently.

The CHALLENGE
Let's collaborate! Let me know what you think. Help refine the proposed mission statement or propose a new one. This is Step 1 in developing a first-draft strategic plan for PHIN.

Thanks in advance for participating.