Wickersham Kevin

Prior to June 2016, there were 45 registered users of syndromic surveillance data in Washington State, with 29 (64.4%) representing 5 of Washington’s 35 local health jurisdictions and 16 (35.6%) at the state level. Of those registered users, 9 (8.8%) had logged into ESSENCE at least once in the 6 months before October 2016. In June 2016, the Washington State syndromic surveillance program began accepting Meaningful Use data and sought to increase its user base. To accomplish this, the Washington State Department of Health (WA DOH) designated a staff member to oversee outreach efforts to increase the visibility of syndromic data in the state, including the establishment of a Community of Practice.

Objective:

To grow and facilitate a community of syndromic surveillance data users in Washington State, improving and expanding local syndromic practice.

As syndromic surveillance reporting became an optional activity under Meaningful Use Stage 3 and incentive funds are slated to end completely in 2021, Washington State sought to protect syndromic reporting from emergency departments. As of December 2016, Washington State emergency departments had received $765,335,529.40 in incentive funding, with facilities receiving an average of three payments of $479,974.04 each.1 Considering the public health importance of syndromic surveillance reporting and the fiscal impact of mandatory reporting, the Washington State Department of Health (WA DOH) sought a new statute to require reporting from all emergency departments within the state.

Objective:

To protect syndromic surveillance data reporting from emergency departments in Washington State beyond the cessation of Meaningful Use incentive funding in 2021.