Perspective: COVID-19 Is a Wake-Up Call to Prioritize Public Health Surveillance Funding
March 16, 2020
Rick Keller
The Covid-19 crisis is revealing how the U.S. and many countries around the world are not prepared for a serious global pandemic. While now is the time to focus on the response, and saving as many lives as possible, we must also take this opportunity to draw attention to the need for sustainable public health funding on a yearly basis.
Rick Keller, director of Altarum's Center for Connected Health, makes that case in Healthcare IT News. Read the article "COVID-19 shows why we must prioritize public health surveillance funding."
Altarum is a nonprofit organization that works with federal and state agencies and foundations to design and implement solutions to improve the health of individuals with fewer financial resources and populations disenfranchised by the health care system. We achieve measurable results by combining our expertise in public health and health care delivery with technology, workforce training and continuing education, applied research, and technical assistance. Our innovative solutions lead to better health for beneficiaries and better value for payers.
Perspective
Rick Keller
Vice President, Connected Health
Areas of Expertise- Health Information Exchange
- Disease Surveillance
- Interoperability
Rick Keller manages the development of highly technical health care software systems that support disease reporting, syndromic surveillance, public health registries, and other functions. Rick holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in computer science from the University of Michigan and Oakland University, respectively.