A consortium of US public health agencies and health
care companies in June plans to launch a three-month test of a data
collection and distribution network that is designed to act as an
automated early-warning system in the event of epidemics like the
global spread of the Sars virus.
The web-based network could also alert health care officials to
possible bioterrorist attacks, said Janet Marchibroda, chief
executive officer of the eHealth Initiative consortium.
The initiative has about 115 members, including major suppliers
of health care IT systems.
Some US cities, including New York, have developed local systems
similar to the one envisioned by eHealth since the 11 September
terrorist attacks in 2001. But the US lacks a cohesive and
standards-based network that can be used nationwide, according to
Marchibroda.
Nine hospitals across the US plan to take part in the test of
eHealth's proposed National Healthcare Collaborative Network, along
with local, state and federal health agencies, she said.
The eHealth network will capture patient data collected by
hospitals - especially in emergency rooms - and automatically
distribute information to health agencies.
The project was under way before the recent outbreak of Sars,
but Dr Russell Ricci, general manager of IBM's global health care
division, said automated syndromic surveillance technology that can
collect information about symptoms like the high fever and
respiratory problems that are common with Sars will be a key
component of the three-month test.
Syndromic surveillance systems can also gather information about
sales of over-the-counter medicines, Ricci said.
The pilot project will demonstrate how to apply sophisticated
data mining techniques to the health care industry and how to tie
together hospital information systems using commercial middleware
tools, Ricci said.
The test version of the network will support electronic data
exchange standards that were mandated by the US Department of
Health and Human Services in March, Marchibroda said.
She added that eHealth officials hope that the project will lead
to the development of a full network, but that will depend on
additional funding.
Ricci said he could not quantify the cost of implementing a full
nationwide network, but added it was likely that federal backing
would be needed.
Dr Seth Foldy, health commissioner for the city of Milwaukee,
said he hopes that eHealth's efforts will lead to the eventual
development of a system that would make it easier to exchange
syndromic surveillance data.
"This is not going to be easy, but maybe eHealth can build a
business case and demonstrate that it is possible," Foldy said.
The surveillance data can alert doctors and public health
officials to potential outbreaks of epidemics like Sars more
quickly than is possible with traditional, diagnosis-based systems,
which often require lab tests that take days to complete.
Syndromic systems provide more immediate information about
patterns of symptoms among patients, Foldy said.