Syndromic Surveillance

Health care delivery and public health are connected in their efforts to promote health and prevent diseases within populations. Syndromic surveillance serves as a fundamental link involving these two fields during epidemics or pandemics by providing real time data on symptoms and disease patterns, enabling early detection and response. During outbreaks like coronavirus pandemic, syndromic surveillance systems played a pivotal role in monitoring the spread of the disease and informing public health interventions. These systems collected and analyzed various data sources, including emergency department visits, hospital admissions, laboratory results, and even social media post, to detect unusual patterns or illnesses that may indicate an outbreak.

Both the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) The World Health Organization (WHO) utilize syndromic surveillance system to monitor and respond to public health threats. Specific system employed included:

·         CDC BioSense: BioSense It's a national syndromic surveillance system in the United States managed by the CDC. It aggregates data from healthcare facilities across the country to monitor patterns of illness and detect potential public health emergencies.

·         CDC’s National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP):  NSSP is another CDC initiative that collects electronic health data from participating health care facilities to provide situational awareness during public health emergencies, including epidemics and pandemics.

·         WHO Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN): GOARN facilitates the sharing of information and expertise between countries and organizations during outbreaks. It utilizes syndromic surveillance data to monitor global health threats and coordinate response efforts.

Some of the promising practices for connecting healthcare delivery and public health through information systems and technologies include - health information exchange, electronic health records, data analytics and artificial intelligence, geographic information system to name a few.  By leveraging these innovative approaches, healthcare delivery systems and public health agencies can collaborate more effectively to detect, respond to, and mitigate the impact of epidemics and pandemics on population health.

Reference:

BioSense --- A national initiative for early detection  and quantification of public health emergencies. (n.d.). Retrieved February 4, 2024, from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su5301a13.htm

Overview of Syndromic Surveillance What is Syndromic Surveillance? (n.d.). Retrieved February 4, 2024, from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su5301a3.htm

Overview. (2023, September 20). CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/nssp/overview.html

WHO EMRO. (n.d.). World Health Organization - Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean. Retrieved February 4, 2024, from https://www.emro.who.int/pandemic-epidemic-diseases/goarn/index.html