2026 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 15-17, 2026 • Jacksonville, FL
3/11/2025 | 1:45 PM - 2:15 PM | Breaking Down SILOS with Shared Data Systems | 320
Breaking Down SILOS with Shared Data Systems
It is often the case that every public health program has its own data system, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Due to the power and scalability of cloud computing today, public health agencies (PHAs) are rethinking whether this silo approach is necessary. In 2008 the American Samoa Department of Health (AS-DOH) submitted a grant application to start their EHDI program. In this grant we proposed a shared data system that included Vital Records (Electronic Birth Certificate, eBC), EHDI (Newborn Hearing Screening), and Early Intervention (EI, Part C). We called this SILAS (Share Integrate and Link American Samoa). The idea was that the eBC would seed the newborn hearing screening, and that when a child referred to EI, all the birth and screening information would be available.
Today we’ve added MCH programs like prenatal, so that we have prenatal visits and mother’s information at the birth. Vital Records/Statistics has expanded to include the Death and Fetal Death Certificates. We are currently adding Newborn Bloodspot screening, electronic Case Reporting (eCR), and epi dashboard, and syndromic surveillance.
When we started architecting the approach of a shared data system, it was not clear if it would scale for larger stateside departments of health. However, with today’s scalability of cloud computing, we think that this absolutely does scale. The benefits of shared data are clear. Each program has access to the child and family demographics and case history. For example, when a child with hearing loss refers to Early Intervention, that program has immediate access to the prenatal visits, mother and father medical history, birth, and EHDI screenings and audiological evaluations.
Attend this presentation if you are interested in learning more about the benefits of a shared data system!
- What is a shared data system?
- Why are data silos inefficient?
- How do cloud systems support scaling.
Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.
Handouts:
3545975_18276ChuckScheier.pdf
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Chuck Scheier
(Primary Presenter), FamilyTrac, Inc., chuck.scheier@familytrac.com;
Mr. Chuck Scheier, co-owner of FamilyTrac, Inc. has over 35 years of software development experience. Mr. Scheier started his career with GE Aerospace, is a graduate of their Edison
Engineering Program, and holds a Master’s of Computer Engineering degree from Syracuse University.
After 10 years in aerospace, Mr. Scheier taught for 5 years at the high school and university level.
Returning to industry, he worked with several internet start-ups and then founded FamilyTrac in 2001.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Ownership interest for Ownership from FamilyTrac, Inc..
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with FamilyTrac, Inc..
Nature: I am a co-owner of FamilyTrac, Inc. who sells public health data systems, including EHDI data systems.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.