Datapult, an APHL company

The transport, validation, translation, transformation, and routing of messaging data can be complicated, time consuming, and expensive. It doesn’t have to be.

Meet Datapult—a secure, cloud-based, public health sanctioned service that makes it easy to safely and quickly share electronic health messaging data.

About Datapult

Working with the CDC, the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) created a cloud-based Informatics Messaging Service (AIMS), to overcome the complicated problem of electronic health message reporting. This continuously improving, cutting-edge technology has been at the core of the nation’s public health infrastructure for the past 15 years. In June 2020, the HHS referenced the extraordinary AIMS platform be extended to non-traditional reporters to share COVID-19 testing results.

This new service arm was initially called AIMS+. Because AIMS is for local, state, and federal government labs, and AIMS+ was for everyone else. But it was confusing for a lot of people; so we changed our name to Datapult. It means unleashing the power of data, which is what we do.

Solutions and Services

Electronic Laboratory Reporting

Electronic Laboratory Reporting applies to any sort of electronic transmission that delivers required reports for reportable conditions to public health departments from laboratories, including hospital, private and public health. Data transmitted via ELR can be reviewed or monitored using the DASH visualization console.

Centralized ELR

Built on the AIMS platform, Centralized ELR allows reporters to quickly send massive amounts of testing data tailored to the distinct messaging standards of public health laboratories and agencies of all 50 states, the District of Columbia and several large cities and counties.

Report COVID-19, COVID Multiplex Panel and Mpox test results
Manage one connection to AIMS platform and receive the value of connection to 55+ public health agencies
FISMA Moderate, HIPAA & FedRAMP Compliant, EHNAC Certified

Expanded ELR

The only centralized solution for sending test results of National Notifiable Diseases and many state-specific conditions utilizing a single connection to 55+ public health agencies.

White-glove implementation and validation of your test menu cross walked with the reporting requirements of reportable states.
Reporting available for tests on over 90+ reportable conditions
Logic Engine that deciphers what test results are reportable and to what jurisdictions, maintained by Datapult

Reach out to Datapult’s solutions team to learn more.

Next Generation Sequencing Data Solutions

Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) Data is already being used to improve and upgrade public health’s surveillance of infectious diseases. Our NGS Data Solutions simplify public health laboratories’ abilities to receive NGS data, store it, analyze and utilize the insights from this critical data.

NGS gsT
Using the secure connections of the AIMS platform, gsT creates an intrastate network between the public health laboratory, or other sponsoring lab and any number of interested data partners.

Bi-directional message and reporting network
Share FastA and FastQ NGS data files
Provides a $450,000+ value to sponsoring labs

NGS TB Pipeline
Users can upload FastA and FastQ files and run them through a pipeline built by public health to classify Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from MGIT and solid media using Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) with NGS technology. This pipeline dramatically decreases the turn-around-time for drug susceptibility testing (DST) compared to conventional methods.

Utilizes a custom-built database to perform taxonomic classification containing all fully sequenced Mycobacterium genomes
Outputs include taxonomic classification, spoligotyping, read mapping with downsampling, SNP-base identification, quality control for high confidence loci, and summary information

NGS InSight™
We have partnered with Seqera to bring a public health centered deployment of Nextflow Tower to the AIMS platform. Easy Genomics is being included to enhance the internal operability of Tower workflows within public health labs.

Managed Services and Maintenance on the cloud—AIMS Platform
Access to large library of pipelines or collaborate and build new pipelines on Nextflow Tower
Easy Genomics enhances user interface and operability simplification

Reach out to Datapult’s solutions team to learn more.

Platform Hosting Services

Do you need to host your LIMS, application, database, or other programming in the Cloud? The power and security of the AIMS Platform can be yours. We host many critical and essential software applications on the AIMS platform on behalf of data users in public health. If this is a solution you need, reach out to Datapult’s solutions team.

Public Health Informatics Consulting

Datapult professionals have over 70 years of scientific, informatics, laboratory, data and public health experience. As an APHL company and through our partnerships, we have two centuries worth of experience and subject matter expertise.

Areas of expertise include:

Data Standards

Informatics

Bioinformatics
IT Project Management, Short- and Long-term
Scientific subject matter Expertise
Interoperability architecture assessments and improvement plans
System/Program/Software gap analysis

Data Science

Big Data
Analysis & Visualization
Anomaly Detection

Custom System Integrations

Reach out to Datapult’s solutions team to learn more.

FAQ

About Datapult, APHL and AIMS

Is Datapult a part of APHL?

Datapult is a wholly owned subsidiary and LLC of the Association of Public Health Laboratories.

Is Datapult a Non-profit company?

Datapult is a registered 501(c)(3).

What is the AIMS Platform?

Initial development on the AIMS Platform began in 2007 under the name Route-Not-Read (RnR) Hub. The RnR hub eliminated the need to maintain multiple connections—one for each partner—to a single connection. The original use case was in support of the Public Health Laboratory Interoperability Project (PHLIP) focused on influenza reporting to the CDC.

In 2012, the RnR Hub was renamed to APHL Informatics Messaging Services (AIMS) Platform. Over the last decade, the capability has grown to encompass translation, transformation, validation and hosting in addition to the initial secure routing function.

How does Datapult have access to (or use) the AIMS Platform?

Datapult leverages the existing solutions on the cloud platform built by APHL, known as AIMS. We scale up previously built, CDC-funded and evolved technical infrastructure. Datapult compliments, but does not duplicate, existing APHL informatics initiatives by expanding technological data reporting solutions to the widest range of reporters possible.

Can AIMS handle large file sizes and large volumes of messages/data?

AIMS is readily scalable and able to support transfers of virtually unlimited objects up to 5 terabytes each in size.

Technical Support

How long does implementation take?

Onboarding, connections and technical implementations vary by service solution. Our implementation team is the best at what they do, and they do it by making sure you have the best experience and most complete integration possible with your new services. We don’t cut corners because your data matters, to us all. Please reach out to info@datapult.aphl.org with specific questions or inquiries on our service solutions.

Security

What type of security does the AIMS Platform have?

The AIMS Platform is HIPAA, FedRAMP, FISMA Moderate, and Department of Defense compliant. AIMS is accredited by EHNAC and DirectTrust. EHNAC compliance establishes that Direct healthcare communications meet technical and legal standards for trust, security and privacy.

Where is the AIMS Platform hosted?

AIMS is hosted in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud. Hosting locations for the AIMS infrastructure are in various regions and data centers throughout the United States. Fault Tolerance and High Availability are achieved by building a cloud-based infrastructure to take advantage of these multiple data centers. The AIMS infrastructure also uses AWS services that feature built-in, high availability, and fault tolerance protections (e.g. AWS RDS, S3).

What transport protocols are available on AIMS?

Only secure protocols are available for data transmission to and from AIMS. Supported protocols include Secure File Transport Protocol (SFTP), AWS S3, Direct, and Web Services. AIMS also supports Virtual Private Network (VPN) for those partners that require it.

Who controls and protects the data centers?

AWS is responsible for the control and security of the physical data center. They achieve this through physical barriers, access controls, video surveillance, and other methods that prevent unauthorized access.

If AIMS is built on top of Amazon Web Services (AWS), who is ultimately responsible for security?

The AWS shared responsibility Model dictates which controls are AWS’ responsibility, and which fall under the responsibility of the AIMS team. The AIMS team is responsible for those resources that sit in the cloud while AWS is responsible for the security of the cloud (e.g. physical hardware, hypervisor).

Contracting with Datapult

I’m interested in taking advantage of AIMS Platform services, how do I get a hold of Datapult?

Please email us at info@datapult.aphl.org

What are some use cases on AIMS managed by Datapult?

AIMS serves as a messaging platform that supports the transport of electronic lab results, data messaging between public health labs, whole genome sequencing data management and analyses, and much more. Datapult’s use cases on AIMS include:

OpenELIS LIMS hosting
Electronic laboratory reporting (ELR)
Cross-Jurisdictional ELR
NAPHSIS Steve Hosting
NGS Data Transportation
tuberculosis NGS pipeline access and compute
NGS pipeline analysis tools
National Institute of Health (NIH) Mobile At-Home Reporting through Standards (MARS) program - ELR for over the counter, at home testing
SARA Alert (inactive)

Contact

Sales, Contracting & Customer Service

info@datapult.aphl.org

Implementation Team & Technical Support

Informatics.support@aphl.org

Emergency After Hours Platform Support

800-294-8164

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