Discrete Data from Electronic Medical Records - Next Generation Data Sets for Syndromic Surveillance

Traditionally Emergency Department syndromic surveillance methods have relied on ICD-9 codes and chief complaints. The implementation of electronic medical record keeping has made much more information available than can potentially be used for surveillance. For example, information such as vital signs, review of systems and physical exam data are being stored discreetly. These data have the potential to detect specific diseases or outbreaks in a community earlier that the traditionally used ICD-9 and chief complaint.

Objective

This paper describes the integration of novel data sets from an Emergency Department Electronic Medical Record into a syndromic surveillance application.