Standardized electronic pre-diagnostic information is routinely collected in Alberta, Canada. ARTSSN is an automated real-time surveillance data repository able to rapidly refresh data that include school absenteeism information, calls about health concerns from Health Link Alberta; a provincial telephone service for health advice and information, and emergency department visits categorized by standardized chief complaint. Until recently, real-time ARTSSN data for public health surveillance and decision making has been underutilized.
Objective
We developed early warning algorithms using data from ARTSSN and used them to detect signatures of potential pandemics and provide regular weekly forecasts on influenza trends in Alberta during 2012-2014.