“Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus!”: Use of a Business Intelligence Shared Services Framework to Improve STD Program Planning and Epidemiologic Awareness

Background: Local health departments (LHD) need timely surveillance data to appropriately plan and respond to core STD surveillance activities. The Commonwealth of Virginia initiated a Business Intelligence (BI) software contract in 2007 to improve analysis, visualization and reporting (AVR) capacity. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) participated in BI planning with the Virginia Enterprise Applications Division (EAD) and subsequently began a collaborative pilot project to assess use for STD data management infrastructure.

Objectives: This BI project seeks to: 1) improve upon SAM (Strategic Aberration Monitoring), a custom-built application for STD reporting trends; 2) make the BI tool available to LHDs; and 3) provide additional surveillance-related data for enhanced AVR. The STD Surveillance Network (SSuN) aims to improve data management and collaborations. DDP plans to develop and pilot this BI tool within Virginia’s four SSuN sites.

Methods: DDP staff collaborated with EAD to create SAM mock ups as proof of concept for statistical models, mapping and drag-and-drop functionality. STDMIS morbidity data was recreated in SQL cubes for BI tool consumption. VDH IT network issues were addressed for bi-directionality between VDH and EAD servers. ESRI and LogiXML addressed web-services integration of ArcGIS Server.

Results: The SAM proof of concept was successful. SQL cubes were created and EAD staff were successful in obtaining data via a secured network portal. DDP and EAD collaboration resulted in one free development training. ESRI and LogiXML demonstrated successful use of web services for data integration.

Conclusions: Network processes and data flow issues have been established. Business requirements are now in process. As a result of completed actions, pilot initiation will be much easier and will incorporate GIS-related tools to enhance local AVR capacity.

Implications for Programs, Policy, and/or Research: Use of BI shared services will create feasible, cost effective AVR functionality and local use of STD data. It will allow for faster LHD action and enhance epidemiological analyses.