In the fall of 2006, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) proactively began general discussions regarding surveillance issues of mutual interest. Both states, having operational syndromic surveillance systems, thought value could be added to one another’s program by sharing data across their common border. Ohio receives emergency department chief complaint data from 130 of its hospitals; Indiana from 76 hospitals. The ODH uses the EpiCenter System managed by Health Monitoring Systems, while the ISDH Public Health Emergency Service System uses Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Communitybased Epidemics. Each state desired to view the new shared data through its own system. A formal memorandum of understanding was developed and signed by both states to support syndromic data sharing. Data began flowing between the two states in April, 2008.
Objective
The ODH and the ISDH enhanced their individual syndromic surveillance efforts through cross-border sharing of emergency department chief complaint data.