Rimmer Mike

In September 2004, Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Public Health began a 2-year pilot project to develop and evaluate an Emergency Department Chief Complaint Syndromic Surveillance System in collaboration with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care – Public Health Branch, Queen’s University, Public Health Agency of Canada, Kingston General Hospital and Hotel Dieu Hospital. At this time, the University of Pittsburgh’s Real-time Outbreak and Disease Surveillance (RODS, Version 3.0) was chosen as the surveillance tool best suited for the project and modifications were made to meet Canadian syndromic surveillance requirements. To evaluate the design and implementation of the system, a multi-sectored approach to evaluation was taken. Individual evaluations of the process, technical aspects and of cost/benefit were conducted to demonstrate proof of concept and the associated costs. An overall outcome or effectiveness evaluation will take place in spring 2006.

Objective

This paper outlines the approach used to evaluate an emergency department syndromic surveillance system on the following areas: process and outcome, cost/benefit and technical.

This paper outlines the integration of hospital admission, Febrile Respiratory Illness (FRI) screening and Canadian Triage and Acuity Score (CTAS) data streams within an Emergency Department Syndromic Surveillance system. These data elements allow better characterization of outbreak severity and enable more effective resource allocation within acute care settings.

In September 2004, Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Public Health began a 2-year pilot project to develop and evaluate an Emergency Department Chief Complaint Syndromic Surveillance System in collaboration with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care – Public Health Branch, Queen’s University, Public Health Agency of Canada, Kingston General Hospital and Hotel Dieu Hospital. At this time, the University of Pittsburgh’s Real-time Outbreak and Disease Surveillance (RODS, Version 3.0) was chosen as the surveillance tool best suited for the project and modifications were made to meet Canadian syndromic surveillance requirements.

Objective

This poster provides an overview of a RODS-based syndromic surveillance system as adapted for use at a Public Health unit in Kingston, Ontario Canada. The poster will provide a complete overview of the technical specifications, the capture, classification and management of the data streams, and the response protocols developed to respond to system alerts. It is hoped that the modifications described here, including the addition of unique data streams, will provide a benchmark for Canadian syndromic surveillance systems of the future.