Klompas et al. Respond: Automated Public Health Reporting-- Possible with a Coalition of the Willing

Professor Hripcsak rightly points out some of the challenges inherent in disseminating and sustaining robust information systems to automate the detection and reporting of notifiable diseases using data from electronic medical records (EMR). New York City'™s experience with automated tuberculosis identification and notification is a salient reminder that sophisticated technology alone is not enough to ensure broad adoption of automated electronic reporting systems. Substantial resources and ongoing active support by a wide range of public health stakeholders are also essential ingredients. We have attempted to engineer the Electronic medical record Support for Public health (ESP) system to make it suitable for widespread adoption but the ultimate success of this endeavour will depend upon sustained collaboration between many parties including commercial EMR vendors, clinical administrators, state health departments, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), and others.