Methodologies for data collection.

Background: Electronic disease surveillance systems can be extremely valuable tools; however, a critical step in system implementation is collecting data. Without accurate and complete data, statistical anomalies that are detected hold little meaning. Many people who have established successful surveillance systems acknowledge the initial data collection process to be one of the most challenging aspects of system implementation.

Event communication in a regional disease surveillance system.

When real-time disease surveillance is practiced in neighboring states within a region, public health users may benefit from easily sharing their concerns and findings regarding potential health threats. To better understand the need for this capability, an event communications component (ECC) was added to the National Capital Region Disease Surveillance System, an operational biosurveillance system employed in the District of Columbia and in surrounding Maryland and Virginia counties. Through usage analysis and user survey methods, we assessed the value of the enhanced system in daily operational use and during two simulated exercises.

A systems overview of the Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-Based Epidemics (ESSENCE II).

The Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-Based Epidemics, or ESSENCE II, uses syndromic and nontraditional health information to provide very early warning of abnormal health conditions in the National Capital Area (NCA). ESSENCE II is being developed for the Department of Defense Global Emerging Infections System and is the only known system to combine both military and civilian health care information for daily outbreak surveillance. The National Capital Area has a complicated, multijurisdictional structure that makes data sharing and integrated regional surveillance challenging.