Characteristics and geographic dispersion of syndromic surveillance systems in the United States in 2008

Abstract

This PDF document was made available from www.rti.org as a public service of RTI International. More information about RTI Press can be found at http://www.rti.org/rtipress. RTI International is an independent, nonprofit research organization dedicated to improving the human condition by turning knowledge into practice. The RTI Press mission is to disseminate information about RTI research, analytic tools, and technical expertise to a national and international audience. RTI Press publications are peer-reviewed by at least two independent substantive experts and one or more Press editors. DisclaimerThis report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the US Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the US Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the US Government or any agency thereof. All rights reserved. Please note that this document is copyrighted and credit must be provided to the authors and source of the document when you quote from it. You must not sell the document or make a profit from reproducing it. AbstractTo understand the characteristics, scope, and geographic dispersion of syndromic surveillance systems in the United States in 2008, we reviewed information about their existence and characteristics in each state. We abstracted and compiled data from peer-reviewed literature, public reports, news stories, press releases, and Internet sites; we then analyzed the data, using a systematic instrument. For systems that collected emergency department (ED) information, we estimated the percentage of annual ED visits whose data were reported to the system. In 2008, 39 states and the District of Columbia had syndromic surveillance systems. ED records (65 percent) and hospital admissions records (43 percent) were the most common data sources. Respiratory (57 percent) and gastrointestinal (53 percent) syndromes were the most commonly tracked syndromes. On average, systems using ED records covered 47 percent of all visits, though some states had rates higher than 75 percent. The Northeast, Midwest, and Southeast were more likely to have systems than Western regions. We identified wide variance in the sources of data, the syndromes tracked, and the completeness of syndromic surveillance coverage across states. Although some states have well-established systems that capture diverse data at high levels of coverage, many others have small local systems or none.

Can syndromic surveillance help forecast winter hospital bed pressures in England?

“…In some countries, hospital admission data are available in real-time and are part of syndromic surveillance [18][19][20]. However, in countries like France and the United Kingdom (UK) full validated admission episodes including diagnostic data are not available until after discharge, and often not for several months post-discharge [21].…”