SILVER SPRING, MD – The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) has received $2 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide technical assistance to advance electronic exchange of laboratory data.

The award is funded as a cooperative agreement through the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, a piece of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The cooperative agreement will support technical assistance to state health departments, public health laboratories and hospitals to help them link disparate laboratory reporting systems. The grant period extends for 24 months beginning July 1, 2010.

"This $2 million grant brings us one step closer to the real goal of electronic exchange of lab data: healthier people," said Patrick Luedtke, MD, director of the Unified State Laboratories in Utah and APHL president. "Since lab data drives patient treatment and public health response, faster transmission means that people lead healthier lives."

"As the architect of the PHLIP Project, APHL has extensive experience in developing standards and methodology for electronic transmission of lab data," said Paul Jarris, MD, executive director of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. "We look forward to collaborating with APHL to build seamless connections between public and private sector lab partners."

The PHLIP Project, also known as the "Public Health Laboratory Interoperability Project," develops and deploys IT architecture options and tools for the exchange of electronic laboratory data.