MSDH
“ The mission of our agency is to protect and advance the health, welfare and safety of everyone in Mississippi,” Kane elaborates.“ We cover a wide range of areas, including disease surveillance, environmental health, injury prevention, childcare licensing, immunisations, reproductive health and licensing for various healthcarerelated professions. We also play a role in emergency management, especially during hurricanes and handle aspects of public health education.”
This dual role as both a public health agency and healthcare provider in certain counties adds complexity to the MSDH’ s operations and, by extension, its technological needs. It’ s a challenge that Kane and his team are eager to tackle.
“ If I had my way, in the next three years we’ d reach a point where every citizen of Mississippi could access all their healthcare data through an app”
KANE TOMLIN CIO, MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
From compliance to a holistic approach Since joining the department in 2022, Kane has overseen a shift in focus from compliance to a more holistic approach to information technology and security.
“ When I started, we were very compliance-focused and successful in that regard,” he notes.“ We passed our Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act( HIPAA) and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act( FERPA) assessments and had a heavy information technology focus. But compliance is just the first step on the information security roadmap.”
The next phase involves reducing the pain points that security compliance can create in operational processes.
“ It’ s about continuous improvement and making sure that security doesn’ t create unnecessary friction,” he says.“ Now, we’ re moving towards being seamlessly compliant – reducing the pain points while maintaining security.”
This approach has broader implications for IT within the agency. The MSDH is now working on systematising institutional knowledge, improving training and modernising processes to better serve both the agency and the citizens of Mississippi.
Kane’ s vision for the future is ambitious:“ If I had my way, in the next three years we’ d reach a point where every citizen of Mississippi could access all their healthcare data through an app. It’ s a bit of a pipedream, but it’ s the direction I’ m excited to see us moving in.”