Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center: Development of An Integrated Infectious Disease Surveillance System

The Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center’s (NMCPHC) EpiData Center (EDC) supports the division of Preventative Medicine through the use of electronic health data for the surveillance and tracking of reportable medical events, including  outbreaks, throughout the beneficiary population of Department of Navy (DoN).  The EDC has developed a multi-year strategic plan to capitalize upon current projects and accomplishments in the development of an integrated infectious disease surveillance system, to include development of a web-based system for dissemination of surveillance data to public health and medical personnel throughout the DoN.

Development of an integrated system for the tracking of infectious disease related medical events in the Department of Navy will meet key DoN surveillance requirements.  The ability of public health personnel throughout the DoN, including decision makers, to view accurate and timely reports of communicable disease will allow informed responses at the local and enterprise level.  Such a system has the potential to inform patient treatment, development of targeted curriculum and high level determinations for the funding of surveillance and response activities.  The rapid and accurate detection of communicable disease will also improve the timeliness and effectiveness of response to, and control of, potential outbreaks.

Current, ongoing, surveillance activities within the EDC include projects related to tracking influenza, including the H1N1 outbreak, antibiotic resistant bacteria, sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis.  The use of electronic data sources, including laboratory microbiology and chemistry, pharmacy and medical encounter data in current surveillance activities will be described.  Select trend data will be presented to highlight the capabilities developed within these individual projects.  An overview of the systems utilized for dissemination of these data will also be presented.  Finally, plans for the development and maintenance of an integrated system for the detection and investigation of communicable disease events throughout the DoN will be detailed.