Enhancing the Routine Screening Infrastructure to Address a Syphilis Epidemic in Miami-Dade County.

Background: In a recent sexually transmitted disease surveillance report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Miami-Dade County had the nation's fourth highest rate of infectious syphilis, with rates of congenital syphilis on the rise. As a public health response, Homestead Hospital, in collaboration with the Florida Department of Health, enhanced their emergency department's routine HIV/HCV "opt-out" screening infrastructure to include a syphilis smart screening algorithm. The purpose of this article is to describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of the algorithm.