Geographical Analysis of Heat-Related Illnesses Detected by RODS in Houston, Texas

Heat surveillance in Houston is currently limited to mortality reports from the medical examiners office. A possible source of heat related morbidity is the Houston Real-time Outbreak Disease Surveillance (RODS) system. The RODS system was put into practice in the Houston Department of Health and Human services (HDHHS) in 2004 and now encompasses 37 hospitals. While initially designed for early detection of bioterrorism events, using syndromic data to detect other medical complaints, such as heat related morbidity, could prove to be beneficial and cost-effective for large cities, such as Houston.

Objective

The purpose of this investigation is to determine the value of using the RODS system to track heat-related morbidity in Houston, Texas.