ObjectiveTo bridge gaps identified during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic by
developing a system that provides public health departments improved
capability to manage and track medical countermeasures at the state and
local levels and to report their inventory levels to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC).Materials and MethodsThe CDC Countermeasure Tracking Systems (CTS) program designed and
implemented the Inventory Management and Tracking System (IMATS) to manage,
track, and report medical countermeasure inventories at the state and local
levels. IMATS was designed by CDC in collaboration with state and local
public health departments to ensure a “user-centered design
approach.” A survey was completed to assess functionality and user
satisfaction.ResultsIMATS was deployed in September 2011 and is provided at no cost to public
health departments. Many state and local public health departments
nationwide have adopted IMATS and use it to track countermeasure inventories
during public health emergencies and daily operations.DiscussionA successful response to public health emergencies requires efficient,
accurate reporting of countermeasure inventory levels. IMATS is designed to
support both emergency operations and everyday activities. Future
improvements to the system include integrating barcoding technology and
streamlining user access. To maintain system readiness, we continue to
collect user feedback, improve technology, and enhance its
functionality.ConclusionIMATS satisfies the need for a system for monitoring and reporting health
departments’ countermeasure quantities so that decision makers are
better informed. The “user-centered design approach” was
successful, as evident by the many public health departments that adopted
IMATS.
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