Identifying Common and Unique Barriers to the Exchange of Hospital Inpatient and Emergency Department Data | CDC RFA EH18 1801

Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA EH18 1801

The grant opportunity titled "Identifying Common and Unique Barriers to the Exchange of Hospital Inpatient and Emergency Department Data" is a CDC cooperative agreement designed to strengthen the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program by tackling one of its most persistent challenges: getting consistent, timely, and usable hospital inpatient and emergency department (ED) data shared across organizations and jurisdictions. The work sits within the broader mission of the Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, a national effort to integrate and standardize information on health outcomes, environmental exposures, and environmental hazards so public health agencies can better understand patterns over time and place, identify communities most affected, and evaluate policies or interventions intended to reduce environmentally related disease.

The opportunity is rooted in a long-standing national push that began with the Pew Environmental Health Commission report released in September 2000, which argued that the United States had an "environmental health gap" because existing data systems were fragmented and not built to connect environmental conditions with health outcomes. In response, Congress funded CDC starting in fiscal year 2002 to establish and maintain a nationwide tracking program and network. Over time, the Tracking Network has focused on converting data that were originally collected for different purposes and stored in separate systems into standardized formats, making them comparable and more actionable. Hospital inpatient and ED data are especially valuable in this context because they capture serious health events and acute outcomes that can be sensitive to environmental conditions, but they are also notoriously difficult to exchange quickly and consistently due to legal, administrative, technical, and governance issues.

This specific notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), CDC RFA EH18 1801, emphasizes identifying both common barriers (those that most states or partners run into) and unique barriers (those that are tied to specific state laws, hospital systems, data vendors, or institutional practices) that prevent effective sharing of inpatient and ED data. The practical intent is not just to describe problems, but to generate usable solutions that can be applied broadly across the Tracking Program. The CDC frames this as a collaborative effort with the funded recipient to develop standards and principles that help agencies administer, integrate, and exchange public health statistics more effectively, ultimately improving how data flow into the Tracking Network.

The NOFO builds directly on earlier CDC efforts, particularly CDC RFA EH15 1501, which focused on improving interstate data sharing, making data more timely, and advancing consistent practices for integrating public health data into the Tracking Network. A concrete example of progress from that earlier work is the creation of a model Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between a jurisdiction's vital records or health statistics unit and the Tracking Program recipient in that jurisdiction. The CDC highlights this as a meaningful lesson learned: formal agreements can reduce friction, clarify roles and expectations, and create durable partnerships that make routine data exchange more feasible. The new opportunity is meant to extend those kinds of practical tools and shared approaches, with attention specifically on hospital inpatient and ED datasets, where obstacles can include data use restrictions, inconsistent data fields and coding practices, delays in submission, vendor constraints, and differences in how systems interpret privacy and security requirements.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity offered by the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), specifically under NCEH (National Center for Environmental Health). The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically means CDC expects substantial involvement in shaping and supporting the work rather than operating at arm's length as a traditional grantmaker. The CFDA number is 93.070. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to applicant types unless further limited by details in the full eligibility text. The opportunity was created May 1, 2018, with an original closing date of July 3, 2018, and electronic submissions due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The award ceiling is $125,000, with one expected award, indicating a single recipient would likely be tasked with producing guidance, analysis, or tools with national usefulness rather than running multiple separate pilot projects in parallel.

In short, the grant is aimed at improving the backbone of environmental public health surveillance by addressing why hospital inpatient and ED data are difficult to exchange and standardize, and by developing practical, replicable standards and principles that help the Tracking Network deliver timely, consistent data. The larger payoff CDC is pursuing is a stronger national capability to link health outcomes with environmental hazards and exposures, support better public health decision-making, and help agencies and the public understand where environmental factors may be contributing to disease patterns.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control - NCEH in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Identifying Common and Unique Barriers to the Exchange of Hospital Inpatient and Emergency Department Data" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.070.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 01, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 03, 2018 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 500 p.m., ET, on the listed application due date.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $125,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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