CDRS: A New Model for Enhanced Reporting and Surveillance of Communicable Diseases and Syndromes between a Local Health Department and Five Urban Hospitals in New Jersey

ISSUE: New Jersey hospitals historically reported communicable diseases to the local health department (LHD) via paper (facsimile or mail). These reports were then forwarded to the state health department (SHD) after investigation and follow-up. There was a considerable delay in receiving and responding to reports with this process. This resulted in significant constraints on the LHDs ability to plan and execute initiatives in a timely manner to reduce morbidity and mortality in the event of adverse health situations. PROJECT: Implementation of the Communicable Disease Reporting System (CDRS), a Web-based electronic reporting system was piloted in five Newark hospitals by the New Jersey State Health Department to enhance the reporting of diseases between the hospitals and both LHD and SHD, and to immediately receive simultaneous reports. This allows timely monitoring of disease patterns as well as timely feedback to the hospitals for quality improvement or remediation of any problems. RESULTS: A recent study of reports sent to the LHD, particularly for Salmonellosis and Shigellosis, showed that prior to the deployment of CDRS, the lag time for receipt of reports by the LHD averaged 24 hours for both diseases. However, the average time lag for receiving and posting the records in the SHD database was 47 days for Salmonellosis and 193 days for Shigellosis. LESSONS LEARNED: CDRS has a promising future and could be used for early identification and abatement of communicable diseases, thus improving quality of life.