This PHIN Messaging Guide for Syndromic Surveillance contains the necessary specifications for data exchange from healthcare to public health for elements that are core to Syndromic Surveillance practice. Note that this guide does not contain specifications for the collective data elements needed to support current practice of Syndromic Surveillance across all public health jurisdictions. In particular, this guide is based on Health Level Seven (HL7) version 2.5.1 messaging structures and vocabulary content and dynamics as described by ISDS in their document titled “Final Recommendation: The Core Processes and EHR Requirements of Public Health Syndromic Surveillance,” available at: http://syndromic.org/projects/meaningful-use.
This messaging guide is intended to meet the anticipated needs and requirements for implementation guidance in clinical care entities that will be described in the future stages of Health Information Technology (HIT) Meaningful Use legislation. In addition, this document addresses the needs of public health authorities for receiving core data Syndromic Surveillance data in accordance with the HIT Meaningful Use legislation, replacing the previous documentation regarding Case Reporting. This guide does not replace the need for documentation of the constraints of specific implementations.