Altarum to Present at the Association of Public Health Laboratories Newborn Screening Symposium

Newborn screening (NBS) programs rely on timely and accurate data exchange to ensure infants receive critical, and often life-saving care. Yet in many jurisdictions across the country newborn screening data can be fragmented, siloed, and subject to different screening procedures, methods, turnaround times, and approaches for interpreting results. 

Through the HRSA-funded Innovations in Newborn Screening Interoperability (INBSI) program, Altarum helped states and jurisdictions address these gaps, creating a more streamlined and uniform system of newborn screening and reporting. Established in 2020, INBSI provided technical assistance to states to advance their newborn screening interoperability, from building a program portal and assessing state readiness to providing direct technical assistance and creating customized roadmaps for enhancing interoperability.

At the 2023 Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) Newborn Screening Symposium, Altarum’s Craig Newman will be joined by partners from Revvity and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to present two posters on program. “Electronic Data Sharing Activities for Newborn Screening Programs: How Innovations in Newborn Screening Interoperability (INBSI) has helped to advance Newborn Screening Interoperability” will provide an overview of the project’s outcomes, key findings, and recommendations—including how state NBS programs can take an active approach in sustaining interoperability gains. “A Virtual Learning Collaborative: Improving Communication and Innovations across the Newborn Screening Community” will present results from Project ECHOTM (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes), a telementoring program used by AAP and INBSI that connected NBS programs and experts in topical areas using didactic and case-based presentations. 

The hybrid APHL Newborn Screening Symposium will address state, national and international newborn screening, genetic testing, and policy issues important to public health newborn screening systems. Topics of interest include molecular technologies, current and upcoming conditions, quality improvement, communicating with families and the public, and short- and long-term follow-up. This year’s event will be a joint meeting with the International Society for Neonatal Screening (ISNS), bringing additional emphasis on practices and goals shared throughout the world. Learn more about the 2023 APHL/ISNS Newborn Screening Symposium. 

Altarum brings two decades of experience advancing states’ interoperability capabilities, which includes developing Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) solutions; building applications that support information exchange for disease surveillance and care coordination; and helping to create national standards for electronic birth defect reporting, newborn screening early hearing detection and intervention, and critical congenital heart defects/disease.

Learn more about Altarum’s work in newborn screening.