Discuss the ISDS and CDC BioSense public health syndromic surveillance (PHSS) standard with us. Dr. Taha Kass-Hout (CDC/OSELS), Dr. David Buckeridge (ISDS), Ms. Julia Gunn (Boston Public Health Commission), and Mr. Robert Beckley (Beth-Israel Deaconess) will speak on the value of the PHSS standard, technical implementation of the new message, and generate a meaningful and achievable vision of personal and population health decision making supported by evolving PHSS capabilities.

Promoting effective use of health information technology to improve population health is a critical component of current U.S. health reform efforts. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act authorizes programs to improve health care quality, safety, and efficiency through the promotion of health information technology (HIT), including electronic health records (EHRs). The public health meaningful use criteria for public health are immunizations, electronic laboratory reporting, and syndromic surveillance data.  

The International Society for Disease Surveillance (ISDS), supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) BioSense Program, convened a group of expert local and state syndromic surveillance practitioners to recommend standards that will support current and future Meaningful Use stages. The ISDS workgroup members represented key public health stakeholder professional organizations (e.g., Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, National Association of County and City Health Officials).  A community consensus-driven process was used to develop the recommendation.  Input from the ISDS workgroup served as the basis for early document iterations.  Input on the Provisional Recommendation from over 40 Meaningful Use stakeholders informed ISDS’s, “Final Recommendation: The Core Processes & EHR Requirements of Public Health Syndromic Surveillance”, published in January 2011.   The Recommendation report also serves as the business requirements behind the CDC PHIN messaging guide for syndromic surveillance.

This panel will focus on implementations of the public health syndromic surveillance standard, and discuss opportunities to leverage enhanced surveillance information and technology to advance population health. Participants will enhance their ability to successfully send, receive and integrate NIST certifiable syndromic surveillance messages, and identify existing assets (e.g., resources, partnerships, or best practices) that will advance the policy priorities of meaningful use.