Hello LHIT Community, thank you to everyone who joined our recent Local Health IT Community of Practice meeting on AI Policy, Governance, and Public Health Use Cases. I'm so happy with how the meeting came together. We had nearly 90 attendees from local health departments across the country, and the discussion highlighted both the excitement and challenges surrounding AI adoption in public health.
A special thank you to Tatiana Lynn (Kansas Health Institute) and @Aaron Davis (Wichita State University) for sharing their expertise and insights.I personally was looking for this exact information and found it to be extremely helpful.
Meeting Recording
Duration: 57 minutes
Recording: Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars, Screen Sharing
Presentation: Attached
Meeting Overview
The session explored emerging AI use cases across public health, the evolving federal and state AI policy landscape, and practical approaches to developing AI governance within local health departments.
Highlights included:
- Real-world AI use cases, including food inspection forecasting in Chicago, record-linking improvements in Washington State, mosquito surveillance in Florida, and language translation services using Pocketalk.
- The current federal and state AI regulatory landscape and what it means for public health agencies.
- The distinction between AI governance and AI policy, including procurement, risk assessment, human oversight, staff training, and ongoing monitoring.
- Common challenges local health departments are facing as they evaluate AI tools, privacy considerations, cybersecurity, and responsible implementation.
One of the most valuable parts of the meeting was hearing directly from participants about where their organizations are in their AI journey.
Poll Results Snapshot
Thank you to everyone who participated in our live poll!
How organizations are currently using AI (40 responses):
- 48% (19 organizations) are actively exploring AI opportunities.
- 30% (12 organizations) are using AI operationally in some capacity.
- 20% (8 organizations) are conducting pilot projects.
- 2% (1 organization) reported not currently using AI.
Top topics participants would like LHIT to explore next (39 responses):
- Public Health AI Use Cases (15 votes)
- AI Governance (10 votes)
- Workforce Development & Training (6 votes)
- Cybersecurity & AI (5 votes)
- AI Policy Updates (2 votes)
- Vendor Demonstrations (1 vote)
These results reinforce what we heard throughout the discussion: local health departments are eager to learn from one another's experiences while building the governance structures needed to adopt AI responsibly.
Resources
The following resources were highlighted during the meeting and will be shared through the LHIT Community of Practice and Toolbox:
If your organization has developed an AI policy, governance framework, or successful AI implementation, we'd love to add it to our growing collection of resources.
Looking Ahead
Based on your feedback, upcoming LHIT meetings may focus on:
- Public Health AI Use Cases
- AI Governance Frameworks
- Microsoft Copilot implementation and best practices
- AI Workforce Development
- Cybersecurity and AI
- Procurement and vendor evaluation strategies
If you have an AI project, governance framework, or innovative use case you'd be interested in presenting during a future meeting, please reach out-we'd love to feature your work.
For those attending PHI*con and NACCHO360 in Louisville this July, I'll be sharing information soon about local health IT events and opportunities to connect throughout the week.
Thank you again for your participation and for making the LHIT Community of Practice such a collaborative space. We look forward to continuing the conversation!
Best,
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Angie Castillo
Senior Web Specialist
National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)
Washington DC
(571)484-4663
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