Lab Matters Winter 2024 | Page 23

FEATURE SPOTLIGHT : PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE

2 . Formalized external partnerships and relationships

3 . Centralized coordination to provide support for all types of laboratories during responses , with many participants applauding APHL for its coordinating role in several responses

4 . A national strategy for laboratory emergency response , including a national laboratory system

5 . Sustained funding for both private and public laboratories .

APHL ’ s members and partners also delved into the critical elements for a coordinated national laboratory system , which included :

• Sustainable funding for both public and private laboratories

• Diverse workforce and an established pipeline for a highly skilled workforce

• Communication platform ( s ) to quickly share information with laboratories and partners

• Strong laboratory and epidemiological partnerships

• Identification of specific roles and responsibilities of each type of laboratory and other partners

• Surge planning that engages private sector

• Robust supply chain

• Scalable and flexible technologies that can easily pivot to respond to a range of threats

• Modern electronic system for test ordering , data collection , analysis and reporting

• Quality management system ( s )

• Investment in research and development , with a focus on innovation .

In addition to the findings described above , participants noted that a gap analysis utilizing a scenario-based approach ( e . g ., previous emergency events ) could be helpful in analyzing what worked , as well as opportunities for improvement in national laboratory coordination .

… Which Leads to Resilient Response Systems

APHL has also taken steps to formulate a strategy to prepare for and respond to biological emergencies . The strategy , articulated in The Testing Playbook for Biological Emergencies , provides US decision makers at the federal , state and local level with a clear , evidence-based guide for making rapid and effective decisions regarding the development , implementation and scale-up of diagnostic testing at every stage in an infectious disease emergency . The laybook is divided into six sequential phases of a biological emergency and outlines steps for achieving effective outbreak testing as early as possible and throughout a disease emergency . The playbook is the work of national public health experts , led by APHL and the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health .

While there is progress in coordinating how the US responds to emerging infectious diseases , there remains a need to create a well-coordinated national laboratory response system , managed by a lead federal agency such as CDC . The system would certainly go beyond infectious diseases and encompass a network of private and public laboratories positioned to respond to public health threats . Many components of the existing CDC-managed LRN can provide the framework for a broader and effective national laboratory response system . g