Bioterrorism surveillance is an integral component of DCHD’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. This study was a collaborative effort between Duval County Health Department, University of South Florida’s Center for Biological Defense (CBD), and DataSphere, LLC. DCHD’s role in the project was to identify surveillance sites, involve community partners, share data/info with surrounding agencies, counties and the state department of health, and secure funding for the system. CBD’s role in the project was facilitating the operational and technical implementation of the system and serving as a liaison between hospitals, health departments, and DataSphere, LLC. DataSphere, LLC owns and operates BioDefend and was responsible for the technical setup and maintenance of the system. The study addressed the feasibility of automated data collection by healthcare facilities and issues related to implementation of a syndromic surveillance system.
Objective
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation of the BioDefend syndromic surveillance system for its use.