EMRs efficient in collecting infectious disease data: CDC.(Late News)(Brief article)

Modern Healthcare, April, 2008

Electronic medical records could be used to quickly detect and report infectious diseases, according to results published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In an article in its April 11 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC reviewed a computer system created by researchers at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Harvard Medical School, Atrius Health and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to pull data from EMRs and search them for evidence of specific diseases.

The system looks for the presence of chlamydia, gonorrhea, pelvic inflammatory disease and acute hepatitis A, and can report faster than traditional surveillance systems, according to the CDC article. Since its pilot implementation in 2007, the system has documented 39% more...

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