Approach to Onboarding Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Data Into a Syndromic Surveillance System

Syndromic surveillance has become an integral component of public health surveillance efforts within the state of Florida. The near real-time nature of these data are critical during events such as the Zika virus outbreak in Florida in 2016 and in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in 2017. Additionally, syndromic surveillance data are utilized to support daily reportable disease detection and other surveillance efforts.

June 18, 2019

The Evaluation of Triage Notes Using ESSENCE-FL for Active Case Finding of Zika

The Florida Department of Health (DOH) utilizes the Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community Based Epidemics (ESSENCE-FL) as its statewide syndromic surveillance system. ESSENCE-FL comprises of chief complaint data from 231 of 240 EDs, representing 96 percent of the total number of EDs in Florida. Historically, syndromic surveillance has categorized patient chief complaint data into syndromes for the purpose of disease surveillance or outbreak detection.

August 20, 2017

Day of Week Analysis of Myocardial Infarctions Using ESSENCE-FL Emergency Department Data

Syndromic surveillance ED data has historically shown the highest number of visits on Mondays, with decreasing volumes throughout the week. Previous studies have shown that increased negative health outcomes have occurred on Mondays. A study in the European Journal of Epidemiology provided evidence that suggests a higher incidence of cardiovascular events on Mondays compared to other days of the week.

Objective

August 31, 2017

Syndromic Surveillance Evaluation of Influenza Activity in At-Risk Sub-Populations

Near real-time emergency department chief complaint data is accessed through Florida’s syndromic surveillance system: Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Communitybased Epidemics-Florida (ESSENCE-FL). The Florida Department of Health relies heavily upon these data for timely surveillance of influenza and influenza-like illness (ILI). Hospital discharge data available from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) captures information about influenza-associated ED visits and is considered complete.

September 19, 2017

Contact Us

NSSP Community of Practice

Email: syndromic@cste.org

 

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