An intranet-based automated system for the surveillance of nosocomial infections: prospective validation compared with physicians' self-reports.

Objective: To examine the reliability of the data produced by an automated system for the surveillance of nosocomial infections.

Setting: A 906-bed, tertiary-care teaching hospital.

Design: Three surveillance techniques were concurrently performed in seven high-risk units during an 11-week period: automated surveillance (AS) based on the prospective processing of computerized medical records; laboratory-based ward surveillance (LBWS) based on the retrospective verification by ward clinicians of weekly reports of positive bacteriologic results; and a reference standard (RS) consisting of the infection control team reviewing case records of patients with positive bacteriology results.