Browsing by Subject "Infectious disease reporting"

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    Improving Notifiable Disease Case Reporting Through Electronic Information Exchange–Facilitated Decision Support: A Controlled Before-and-After Trial
    (Sage, 2020) Dixon, Brian E.; Zhang, Zuoyi; Arno, Janet N.; Revere, Debra; Gibson, P. Joseph; Grannis, Shaun J.; Epidemiology, School of Public Health
    Objective: Outbreak detection and disease control may be improved by simplified, semi-automated reporting of notifiable diseases to public health authorities. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of an electronic, prepopulated notifiable disease report form on case reporting rates by ambulatory care clinics to public health authorities. Methods: We conducted a 2-year (2012-2014) controlled before-and-after trial of a health information exchange (HIE) intervention in Indiana designed to prepopulate notifiable disease reporting forms to providers. We analyzed data collected from electronic prepopulated reports and "usual care" (paper, fax) reports submitted to a local health department for 7 conditions by using a difference-in-differences model. Primary outcomes were changes in reporting rates, completeness, and timeliness between intervention and control clinics. Results: Provider reporting rates for chlamydia and gonorrhea in intervention clinics increased significantly from 56.9% and 55.6%, respectively, during the baseline period (2012) to 66.4% and 58.3%, respectively, during the intervention period (2013-2014); they decreased from 28.8% and 27.5%, respectively, to 21.7% and 20.6%, respectively, in control clinics (P < .001). Completeness improved from baseline to intervention for 4 of 15 fields in reports from intervention clinics (P < .001), although mean completeness improved for 11 fields in both intervention and control clinics. Timeliness improved for both intervention and control clinics; however, reports from control clinics were timelier (mean, 7.9 days) than reports from intervention clinics (mean, 9.7 days). Conclusions: Electronic, prepopulated case reporting forms integrated into providers' workflow, enabled by an HIE network, can be effective in increasing notifiable disease reporting rates and completeness of information. However, it was difficult to assess the effect of using the forms for diseases with low prevalence (eg, salmonellosis, histoplasmosis).
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    The Long Road to Semantic Interoperability in Support of Public Health: Experiences from Two States
    (Elsevier, 2014) Dixon, Brian E.; Vreeman, Daniel J.; Grannis, Shaun J.; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Proliferation of health information technologies creates opportunities to improve clinical and public health, including high quality, safer care and lower costs. To maximize such potential benefits, health information technologies must readily and reliably exchange information with other systems. However, evidence from public health surveillance programs in two states suggests that operational clinical information systems often fail to use available standards, a barrier to semantic interoperability. Furthermore, analysis of existing policies incentivizing semantic interoperability suggests they have limited impact and are fragmented. In this essay, we discuss three approaches for increasing semantic interoperability to support national goals for using health information technologies. A clear, comprehensive strategy requiring collaborative efforts by clinical and public health stakeholders is suggested as a guide for the long road towards better population health data and outcomes.