PVM Expands CDC DCIPHER Activity to Continue Improving Disease Surveillance and Outbreak Response

Over the next year, PVM is expanding its partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with six new and ongoing data modernization projects for the organization’s DCIPHER platform. As a result, PVM, a digital services provider with extensive expertise, continues to help the organization mitigate public health risks by improving surveillance and outbreak response related to infectious disease pathogens.

As a partner to CDC for several years, the strong collaboration between the CDC SEDRIC team and PVM has fostered many shared team successes. Our work mapping COVID-19 outbreaks and enhancing the System for Enteric Disease Response, Investigation and Coordination (SEDRIC) platform was instrumental in the data modernization success for which the CDC SEDRIC project team was able to be formally recognized by winning the 2020 CDC NCEZID Honor Award for Information Technology. This achievement has influenced other data modernization needs at CDC. PVM’s history of success working on similar projects and commitment to helping CDC advance its mission of protecting public health has made us a leader in this arena.

Ongoing and Upcoming Work

In the coming year, PVM will partner with CDC on six new contracts related to data modernization, data migration, and the creation of analysis tools. PVM and CDC are continuing to work together to integrate data into newly built modules and systems, enhance data sharing systems for both internal and external partners, create tools for data analysis that allow for quicker outbreak solves, and improve internal workflows.

Migrate, Clean and Modernize Surveillance and Response Data

The team is continuing its efforts to migrate, clean, and modernize surveillance and response data from outdated repositories into newly developed databases and surveillance systems. Data from various pathogens and diseases including, but not limited to Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, Cholera, Botulism, Typhoid Fever, Cryptosporidium, and various mycotic pathogens will be integrated into advanced systems designed by PVM.

Develop and Enhance Real-Time Data Sharing Systems

This same team is developing and enhancing systems that allow for more efficient “real-time” centralized data sharing and communication between CDC, other federal partners, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), and jurisdictional state public health departments.

Create Tools for Data Analysis

As a part of these programs, PVM and CDC will work together to create various analysis tools designed to help partners discern, interpret, and visualize their collected data. For example, we will build or enhance:

• Tools that help predict a source of an outbreak using advanced statistics in the background.
• Tools that predict a pathogen causing people to become ill when there is no laboratory data.
• Dashboards that allow partners to visualize and track epidemiological trends in outbreak data in real time.
• Complex virtual investigation questionnaires that will be used to collect information on impacted individuals.

Improve Workflows

Additionally, we continue to partner to improve internal workflows for managing all this data and the resulting investigations. This will include:

• Creating tools and databases that keep track of investigation contacts.
• User administrative controls of secure databases.
• Ad hoc modifications of existing surveillance systems to meet the needs of popup events and unique cases.
• Training users on how to navigate and manage the systems and tools that are created.

“PVM is proud of our partnership with CDC and is laser focused on modernizing and migrating its data to help mitigate public health risks,” said PVM CEO Pat Mack. “With these six new contracts, PVM is honored to be able to continue helping CDC unlock the true value of its data so it can better identify and respond to threats to public health in real-time.”

The fight against infectious disease public health threats will never cease — we only have to look to COVID, monkeypox, reoccurring foodborne outbreaks, and so many more recent, prevalent examples as evidence. The greatest tool in our arsenal against these threats is the data that they leave behind that institutions like Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can analyze and use to find solutions. PVM and CDC fully accept and embrace the challenge of unlocking that data so that it can be used to respond to current and future threats to the public.

Our Public Health Team

Our award-winning public health team has extensive experience and expertise solving data challenges that improve surveillance and outbreak response and are experts in the DCIPHER platform. Our team of senior engineers partners with PVM’s epidemiologist to translate scientific needs to technical requirements – resulting in custom solutions that precisely meet the needs of our public health clients.

To learn more about PVM’s success supporting public health and other mission critical challenges, see our portfolio here.

This statement was published independently of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This release does not imply indorsement by nor reflect the opinions of CDC or the United States Government.