Newly available Stage 2 Meaningful Use Documents

The Stage 2 Meaningful Use Public Health (PH) Reporting Requirements Task Force recently posted helpful resources for Meaningful Use Stage 2 to the PH connect public landing page. These resources, which include Version 2.0 of the Stage 2 MU Public Health Agency (PHA) Readiness Guidance and Stage 2 MU Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), provide important information for anyone who is preparing to implement Meaningful Use requirements.

To access the Resource page: http://www.phconnect.org/group/ph-reporting-task-force

Public Health - EHR Vendors Collaboration Initiative

**Update: Pre-registration is NOW REQUIRED. See details below.**

Dear Public Health Colleagues:

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), in collaboration with Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has launched a Public Health (PH)–Electronic Health Records (EHR) Vendors Collaboration Initiative. The proposed participants in this initiative will include Public Health Practitioners and EHR Vendors from across the nation. The initial focus of this initiative will be on meeting Stage 1 and 2 Meaningful Use (MU) objectives for public health.

Initially, separate virtual meetings were held with public health and an EHR vendor workgroup to help frame and plan this initiative.  Based on inputs gathered from these interactions, joint meetings of the public health practitioners and EHR vendors from across the nation will be held on a recurrent basis starting on August 20^th, 2013, to work collaboratively towards achieving the desired goals and creating value for the public health and EHR vendor communities.

If you have suggestions for topics or issues to be addressed by this initiative, please send those to meaningfuluse@cdc.gov with a Subject Line of “Suggestion for PH-EHR Vendor Initiative” by COB August 16^th.   The suggestions received will help identify common issues and areas of focus for this initiative.

WebEx information Date and Time:

Tuesday, August 20, 2013 3:00 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (New York, GMT-04:00)

Tuesday, August 20, 2013 2:00 pm, Central Daylight Time (Chicago, GMT-05:00)

Tuesday, August 20, 2013 12:00 pm, Mountain Time (Arizona, GMT-07:00)

Tuesday, August 20, 2013 12:00 pm, Pacific Daylight Time (San Francisco, GMT-07:00)

Event number: 646 100 152

Event password: open&88

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To register for the online event
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1. Go to https://ahrqhit.webex.com/ahrqhit/onstage/g.php?d=646100152&t=a&EA=cuhrig%40rti.org&ET=cafa7b000967412beb9e5f9793f0a58e&ETR=2deb918cb86a8626ce8ae6715b9ed2aa&RT=MiMxMQ==&p
2. Click "Register".
3. On the registration form, enter your information and then click "Submit".

Once the host approves your registration, you will receive a confirmation email message with instructions on how to join the event.

Agenda

• Introduction – Jim Daniel
• Overview, Scope, Goals, and Status – Jim Daniel
• New Public Health Processes in Meaningful Use Stage 2 – Denise Webb
• Open Discussion - All
• Next Steps – All

Have comments on PHIN Guide? Submit them through our new feedback form!

In the months since ISDS and CDC published the expanded PHIN Messaging Guide for Syndromic Surveillance, Release 1.9 (Guide) in April 2013 we’ve received several comments and questions as well as suggestions for future versions.

To streamline the process for gathering comments we’ve created a google form through which you can submit feedback. We’ll also keep track of who submits comments and invite you to participate in conversations on future Guide revisions.

You can also now access a list of feedback ISDS has already received on the Guide. This spreadsheet will be updated periodically (and anonymously) as feedback is submitted. ISDS and CDC responses and status updates are also included for your information.

For additional details on this project see the PHIN Messaging Guide Project Webpage.

For any questions on the PHIN Messaging Guide for Syndromic Surveillance, Release 1.9, please contact Becky Zwickl at bzwickl@syndromic.org.

Meaningful Use: Which PHIN VADS Value Set Should I Use?

As the guidance documents for the syndromic surveillance objective of Meaningful Use continue to change and improve, there is a constantly evolving set of value sets used and referenced. Many users are utilizing older versions of messaging guides and are unsure whether that provides the most up-to-date value set information.

To solve this problem, ISDS has identified a few hints to use when trying to dig through the various levels of the PHIN VADS value sets and vocabulary. PHIN VADS is CDC’s vocabulary access and distribution system that provides information on value sets and vocabulary for a variety of public health purposes, though this post focuses on syndromic surveillance.

First of all, the status of each value set (i.e., if it’s the most current version or not) is clearly depicted on the PHIN VADS website. For reference, consider the pictures inserted below. The first, referencing FacilityVisitType, shows the value set for Version 1, with a note “not current”. The second, also showing FacilityVisitType, shows the value set for Version 2 with a note “current”.

Looking forward, it may make sense to reference the most current available version when developing syndromic surveillance systems so that there is no need to backtrack later on. All of the items included in, for example, Version 2 of the observation identifier value set, are also included in Version 3. The updated versions add additional value sets and values so you will only be expanding, not diminishing, the capacity by using the most current value set. Release 1.9 of the PHIN Messaging Guide, now available at the CDC website, links up to the most updated versions of each of the value sets.

For additional questions, please contact Becky Zwickl at bzwickl@syndromic.org.

Written by ISDS Public Health Analyst, Becky Zwickl, MPH.

Developing EHR Standards, Improving Public Health: SDC Initiative

Since the inception of electronic health records (EHRs) both developers and users have struggled with balancing EHRs’ ability to gather and provide information with their lack of interoperability. EHRs are effective tools for clinicians who want easy access to health information from patient visits, but at present they have inefficiencies that decrease their usefulness for public health. More specifically, public health would benefit from a template that delivered all EHR information in a consistent manner, with consistent data elements (i.e., patient visit information). Standardization is especially important to data quality as Meaningful Use policies continue to expand the volume of data available to public health.

Structured data has the ability to increase public health’s ability to use, analyze, and disseminate information on events of public health interest or concern. In order to capitalize on this potential, the S&I Framework started the Structured Data Capture (SDC) Initiative in January 2013. Through engaging stakeholders and consulting experts, this initiative aims to develop standards for storing data which could then be passed on to public health within standardized templates. The SDC Initiative specifically aims to create standards for four types of reports: electronic case report form; incident report; surveillance case report; and the collection of patient information used for Determination of Coverage.

The development of these standards is community-driven and open to anyone with interest. The SDC Initiative engages stakeholders in a variety of ways, from weekly meetings to presentations from experts working on data standardization in both research and practice. Development of these standards is participatory and committed members of the initiative can vote on project materials.   

Currently, the initiative is working on finalizing a variety of use cases. Once this step is complete, guidance documents for standards will be created and pilot projects instituted. There is still substantial opportunity for interested ISDS community members to contribute to this project before it wraps up in August 2013. 

The next open teleconference is scheduled for Thursday, April 11, 3:30-5 pm EDT.

For more information on the S&I Framework’s Structured Data Capture Initiative, or to get involved as a member, please visit: http://wiki.siframework.org/Structured+Data+Capture+Charter+and+Members

Written by: Becky Zwickl, MPH, Policy Analyst, ISDS

Please Comment: PHIN Messaging Guide for Syndromic Surveillance Release 1.3

The syndromic surveillance stakeholder community is invited to provide comments on Release 1.3 of the PHIN Messaging Guide for Syndromic Surveillance now through December 21, 2012.

Over the last few months ISDS, in partnership and with the support of the Division of Informatics Solutions and Operations (OSELS) of the CDC, has been working to revise the PHIN Messaging Guide for Syndromic Surveillance (Guide). The Guide provides messaging specifications for emergency department and inpatient settings for select ADT and ORU (provided by our colleagues at the Washington State Department of Health) message types. The Guide was first released in 2011 as an emergency department and urgent care center messaging guide and is now being expanded to incorporate inpatient settings as well as stakeholder feedback on prior Guide releases.

Release 1.3 of the Messaging Guide provides a conformance profile for EHR Meaningful Use certification. It also includes an important update that creates a “Hospital Messaging Guide” incorporating Emergency Department, Urgent Care and Hospital Inpatient specifications. The goal of this Guide is to provide HL7 messaging specifications for hospitals providing clinical data to a public health agency for syndromic surveillance. This goal contrasts with that of the recently released ISDS Recommendations because it focuses on the technical specifications for providing the recommended data elements rather than the reasoning behind the data recommendations.

The new Messaging Guide Release 1.3 will improve upon prior releases by:

• Clarifying ambiguities from Release 1.0

• Responding to stakeholder feedback on prior releases

• Incorporating guidelines recommended by the ISDS Meaningful Use Workgroup for inpatient syndromic surveillance data

• Facilitating the formation of syndromic surveillance data exchange between hospitals (now including inpatient) and public health agencies

• Consolidating and clarifying hospital EHR conformance requirements for Meaningful Use certification

How to provide comments:

Stakeholder input helps ensure that the Guide will have widespread utility to facilitate both EHR development and the implementation of hospital-based syndromic surveillance systems. Following this community comment period ending on 12/21, the Guide will be revised further, and a finalized version will be released in the spring of 2013.

We encourage everyone interested in this initiative to provide comments on the Messaging Guide Release 1.3. You may provide feedback via an online survey available here or by emailing your comments to Becky Zwickl, MPH, ISDS Public Health Analyst, at bzwickl@syndromic.org. The comment period ends on Friday, December 21, 2012, 11:59 pm EST.

ISDS Releases Meaningful Use Recommendations

The International Society for Disease Surveillance is pleased to present "Electronic Syndromic Surveillance Using Hospital Inpatient and Ambulatory Clinical Care Electronic Health Record Data: Recommendations from the ISDS Meaningful Use Workgroup" (Recommendations). The ISDS Meaningful Use (MUse) Workgroup's Recommendations provide clarity for Stage 2 Meaningful Use, when on-going syndromic surveillance reporting will be required for eligible hospitals. These Recommendations provide a basis for planning and establishing data use relationships between Public Health Agencies and eligible providers while also building upon prior ISDS work by incorporating both lessons learned and broader stakeholder participation.

The Recommendations were developed in an open, iterative, and consensus-driven manner overseen by a multi-stakeholder workgroup of experts in public health, clinical care, medical informatics, and health information technology. Stakeholder feedback was gathered at the initial stages of development as well after Draft Guidelines and Revised Guidelines were released. In the end, 7 organizations and approximately 100 individuals participated in the development process. 

ISDS is grateful to the MUse Workgroup and HLN Consulting, LLC for their shared expertise, talents, and time over the one-year period that the Recommendations were developed. ISDS also thanks the subject matter experts, stakeholders, readers, and ISDS Board of Directors who provided thoughtful help and consideration during this process. Finally, thank you to the Division of Informatics Solutions and Operations, OSELS, CDC for making this work possible. ISDS is grateful for the on-going partnership and support of the CDC in convening the surveillance stakeholder community for expert, consensus recommendations about syndromic surveillance for Meaningful Use. 

Please visit the ISDS website for more information about the Recommendations and their development process.

Comment Now: NIST Meaningful Use Certification Test Procedures

Dear Colleagues, 

The syndromic surveillance Test Procedure and tools for the 2014 Edition EHR certification criteria are now available for public comment. The finalized Test Procedures will be used by ONC-approved Testing Bodies to certify EHR technology for electronic Meaningful Use syndromic surveillance reporting. This review process is a crucial step in ensuring that eligible healthcare professionals and hospitals use certified technology to fulfill the Meaningful Use requirements set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). ISDS has worked to develop these draft Test Procedures and tools in partnership with Agilex Technologies, Inc to support the ONC, CDC, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in this effort. 

Please review and comment on the draft Test Procedures by October 12, 2012 before they are finalized. You may submit comments to Robert Snelick at robert.snelick@nist.gov or to ONC.Certification@hhs.gov with "2014 Test Methods" in the subject line. Finalized testing procedures, with the incorporated public comments, will be released in early 2013. You may find the draft Test Procedures here http://lri.sipilotdevelopment.org/mu-syndromic. 

Join ISDS on Thursday, October 11 from 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT to learn more about the Test Procedures during an ISDS-hosted webinar. Robert Snelick, of NIST, and Sheryl Taylor, of Booz Allen Hamilton, will present the syndromic surveillance draft Test Procedures and certification criteria and encourage participants to offer feedback.

You may also learn more about this process on the ONC website: http://www.healthit.gov/policy-researchers-implementers/2014-edition-draft-test-methods. 

Sincerely, 

ISDS

ONC and CMS Release EHR Stage 2 Rules

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

News Division                                   

202-690-6343

media@hhs.gov

www.hhs.gov/news

News Release: Thursday, August 23, 2012

HHS announces next steps to promote use of electronic health records and health information exchange

Today, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the next steps in the Obama administration’s work to help doctors and hospitals use electronic health records.

“The changes we’re announcing today will lead to more coordination of patient care, reduced medical errors, elimination of duplicate screenings and tests and greater patient engagement in their own care,” Secretary Sebelius said.

Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, doctors, health care professionals and hospitals can qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments when they adopt and meaningfully use certified electronic health record (EHR) technology.

More than 120,000 eligible health care professionals and more than 3,300 hospitals have qualified to participate in the program and receive an incentive payment since it began in January 2011. That exceeds a 100,000 goal set earlier this year.

That includes more than half of all eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals and 1 out of every 5 eligible health care professionals.  The program is divided into three stages:

• Stage 1 sets the basic functionalities electronic health records must include such as capturing data electronically and providing patients with electronic copies of health information.
• Stage 2 (which will begin as early as 2014) increases health information exchange between providers and promotes patient engagement by giving patients secure online access to their health information.
• Stage 3 will continue to expand meaningful use objectives to improve health care outcomes.
  

Today, HHS’ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and HHS’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT released final requirements for stage 2 that hospitals and health care providers must meet in order to qualify for incentives during the second stage of the program, and criteria that electronic health records must meet to achieve certification.

The requirements announced today:

• Make clear that stage two of the program will begin as early as 2014. No providers will be required to follow the Stage 2 requirements outlined today before 2014.
• Outline the certification criteria for the certification of EHR technology, so eligible professionals and hospitals may be assured that the systems they use will work, help them meaningfully use health information technology, and qualify for incentive payments.
• Modify the certification program to cut red tape and make the certification process more efficient.
• Allow current “2011 Edition Certified EHR Technology” to be used until 2014.

The CMS final rule also provides a flexible reporting period for 2014 to give providers sufficient time to adopt or upgrade to the latest EHR technology certified for 2014.

A fact sheet on CMS’s final rule is available at http://www.cms.gov/apps/media/fact_sheets.asp.

A detailed fact sheet on ONC’s standards and certification criteria final rule is available at http://healthit.hhs.gov/standardsandcertification.

The final rules announced today may be viewed at http://www.ofr.gov/inspection.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1. More information on the Stage 2 rule can be found at the CMS EHR Incentive Programs website at www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms.

Clarification Addendum to PHIN Messaging Guide Release 1.0

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Public Health Information Network (PHIN) Messaging Guide for Syndromic Surveillance: Emergency Department and Urgent Care Data Release 1.0 (October 2011) is a message implementation guide designed to support state and local public health agencies’ use of Electronic Health Record (EHR) data acquired through the Meaningful Use Programs. This document includes minimum syndromic surveillance data standards (core and optional) that emergency departments and urgent care facilities should send to public health agencies. It provides technical specifications and implementation guidance to support the exchange of the core syndromic surveillance data from healthcare to public health.

A clarification addendum to the PHIN Messaging Guide for Syndromic Surveillance Release 1.0 was published by the CDC yesterday, July 24, 2012. This addendum consolidates the HL7 2.5.1 message information, clarifies existing conformance requirements, and corrects significant errata in order to support the certification of EHR technology for reporting syndromic surveillance data. Download the addendum here (pdf).

For more information regarding syndromic surveillance and Meaningful Use, please click here.

Last Day to Comment: ISDS MU Guidelines

Today, Tuesday July 3rd, is the final day to provide comments on the ISDS Revised Guidelines for Syndromic Surveillance Using Inpatient and Ambulatory Clinical Care EHR Data. This is your last opportunity to provide input that will inform ISDS's Meaningful Use recommendations that will be made to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).


View the Revised Guidelines: http://www.syndromic.org/uploads/files/RevisedGuidelinesforSS.pdf
View the Guidelines FAQ: http://www.syndromic.org/uploads/files/GuidelinesFAQ.pdf 


You can also view the presentation below for a summary of the key parts of the Guidelines to help inform your comments. 

Revised Guidelines for Syndromic Surveillance Using Inpatient and Ambulatory Clinical Care EHR Data on Prezi

Ways to Comment
1. On-line Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ISDSRevisedGuidelines2012
2. Email your comments to Becky Zwickl, MPH, ISDS Public Health Analyst at bzwickl@syndromic.org.

Explore ISDS' Revised Guidelines!

Take a tour through ISDS' Revised Guidelines for Syndromic Surveillance Using Inpatient and Ambulatory Clinical Care EHR Data using the newly released presentation found below. Navigate through the various elements of the Revised Guidelines at your own pace to become better acquainted with the document before you provide feedback. This presentation provides a straight-forward overview of the Guidelines that will prepare you to review the full text of the Revised Guidelines and provide informed comments. The purpose of this presentation is to facilitate your understanding and encourage you to provide feedback during the final comment period. Remember, this is your last opportunity to directly shape the recommended guidelines to the ONC. Your input will either support the changes that were made in the Revised Guidelines or emphasize places where further edits are needed.

Comment Period Deadline: July 3, 2012

View the Revised Guidelines

Submit Feedback

Learn more

Revised Guidelines for Syndromic Surveillance Using Inpatient and Ambulatory Clinical Care EHR Data on Prezi

Highlighting the 2012 Pre-Conference Workshops

Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina
December 3, 2012

1380 Harbor Island Drive | San Diego, California 92101

Don’t miss the 2012 ISDS Pre-Conference Workshops! The workshops include options for professionals with varying levels of experience – from students to seasoned practitioners. ISDS invites professionals from around the world to develop core disease surveillance skills and collaborate with their peers.

ISDS Pre-Conference Tracks will be lead by respected leaders in the field, including Dr. Howard Burkom, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (Data Analysis Methods 101); Mr. James Daniel, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (Meaningful Use Overview); Dr. Scott McNabb, Emory School of Public Health (Track 3 Sessions), among others.

Concurrent Pre-Conference Tracks

Track 1: Syndromic Surveillance, Informatics, Data Analysis, and Anomaly Investigation: The 101 Series. This workshop will provide an overview of key topics to introduce professionals to core public health and surveillance competencies. The track will include an overview of syndromic surveillance, public health informatics, data analysis methods, anomaly detection, investigation techniques, and data visualization methods using “R” statistical software. The objective of this track is to “bridge the knowledge gap” in order to better understand and apply public health data for informed and meaningful decision-making.

Track 2: Public Health and Meaningful Use: Closing the Surveillance Loop. This workshop is designed to facilitate discussions around Meaningful Use and the need for closing the surveillance loop between healthcare providers and public health practitioners in order to increase the effectiveness and capacity of disease surveillance. The track will include an overview of Meaningful Use and Health Information Exchanges (HIEs), including best practices, lessons learned, and next steps. Interactive break-out sessions will focus on the healthcare provider onboarding process, data transport mechanisms, data quality issues, analytics, attestation, and other group-specified topics. The break-out groups will have an opportunity to summarize and report their findings to the larger group. The workshop will conclude with a panel discussion, integrating the perspectives of public health practitioners and healthcare providers on the “meaning” of meaningful use data.

Track 3: Assessment tools to meet the core capacities of the International Health Regulations (IHRs). This hands-on workshop will introduce participants to concepts and tools to assess the gaps and current performance of public health practice needed to meet the core requirements for both biosafety and biosurveillance under the International Health Regulations (IHR). Attendees will learn about IHR requirements and assessment concepts, plus use hands-on tools to measure country-specific opportunities and challenges in implementing public health interventions that fill gaps and improve performance. They will discuss specific approaches to measurement of impediments to IHR target compliance by correlating their assessment findings into recommendations for public health stakeholders.

Swap Meet

All tracks will also feature access to the Swap Meet session. The Swap Meet is an exciting opportunity to walk around to tables and informally discuss topics or systems with system developers, system users, and experts.

Reserve your space and register now: http://www.syndromic.org/annual-conference/2012/registration.

*Please note that Continuing Medical Education credits (CME) will not be offered for 2012 Pre-Conference Workshop attendance.

Comment Period Open for Input on ISDS' Revised Guidelines for Meaningful Use

ISDS is pleased to present the Revised Guidelines for Syndromic Surveillance Using Inpatient and Ambulatory Clinical Care EHR Data and requests your feedback on these Revised Guidelines during the final 30-day public comment period.

Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on the Draft Guidelines. Over the last month, the Meaningful Use Workgroup revised the Guidelines to better align with stakeholder needs, perspectives, and expectations based on stakeholder comments. You can view a summary of the major changes in the Revised Guidelines document or in the Guidelines FAQ. 

ISDS requests your feedback in the coming month during the final, and most important, comment period prior to ISDS' release of recommendations for Meaningful Use. This is your last opportunity to directly shape the recommended guidelines to the ONC, as your input will either support the changes that were made int he Revised Guidelines or emphasize places where further edits are needed.

The comment period will be open from June 5, 2012 - July 3, 2012. 

View the Revised Guidelines

View the Guidelines FAQ

How to provide comments: 

1. On-line survey found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ISDSRevisedGuidelines2012 

2. E-mail ISDS Public Health Analyst, Becky Zwickl, MPH at bzwickl@syndromic.org

3. Join an open teleconference call to discuss your comments with your colleagues and MU Workgroup members on Monday, June 18th at 1:00 PM EDT. More information. 

4. Schedule a call with Becky Zwickl to provide feedback by contacting her at bzwickl@syndromic.org

You may learn more about the development of the Guidelines for Syndromic Surveillance Using Inpatient and Ambulatory Clinical Care EHR Data and the MU Workgroup members on the ISDS website here: http://www.syndromic.org/meaningfuluse/IAData.

If you have any questions, please contact ISDS Associate Director of Public Health Programs, Charlie Ishikawa, MSPH at meaningfuluse@syndromic.org.

ISDS NPRM for Stage 2 Comments

ISDS would like to share the final ISDS comments in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) Notices of Proposed Rule Making (NPRMs) for Stage 2 Meaningful Use. The ONC and CMS published their NPRMs with the federal registrar for a 60 day public inspection period, during which time they asked for stakeholder comments and feedback. As an opportunity to represent the ISDS community of public health practitioners, ISDS staff and stakeholders developed two response letters to CMS and ONC. You may view the final versions of the ISDS comments below:

ISDS Comments to CMS
ISDS Comments to ONC

The ISDS staff would like to thank the Public Health Practice Committee, Distribute Community of Practice Members, ISDS Board of Directors, and other society affiliates for providing feedback on the ISDS letters. This collaboration was a crucial element in strengthening the ISDS comments and ensuring society representation.


If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail meaningfuluse@syndromic.org. 

Information Exchange Workgroup Meeting Today (4/24)

The following is an announcement from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).

The HIT Policy Committee Information Exchange Workgroup is holding a meeting today, Tuesday, April 24th from 2:30 - 4:30 PM EDT to discuss its final recommendations on the Stage 2 NPRM and Standards and Certification draft rules. The workgroup will review and finalize decisions and recommendations on information exchange objectives proposed for State 2. There will be time at the end of the meeting for public comment, which can also be submitted by e-mail.

Participation is available via web conference or audio teleconference. By attending the web conference, you will be able to hear the live audio and see live viewing of shared slides or materials. Teleconferecing will provide audio only. You may learn more about this call and how to participate at the following link: http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=1474&&PageID=17115&mode=2&in_hi_userid=11673&cached=true. You may also find meeting materials and an agenda for the call at the above link.

ISDS encourages its members and community to join the call to hear the discussion and provide input during the public comment period.

ISDS Meaningful Use Guidelines Update

On March 6, 2012, ISDS released the Draft Guidelines for Syndromic Surveillance Using Inpatient and Ambulatory Clinical Care EHR Data (Draft Guidelines) for a public comment period that ended on April 2nd. Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on the Draft Guidelines. During the comment period, stakeholders provided a wealth of thoughtful and insightful comments. This commentary is a source of valuable insight that is helping the ISDS Meaningful Use Workgroup recommend guidelines that best reflect the needs of the surveillance community. ISDS greatly appreciates the time and effort of the stakeholder respondents for providing their comments.

Figure 1

ISDS heard from 73 stakeholders in the form of survey responses, email communication, and phone interviews. Out of the 73 respondents, 78% (57) provided comments using the Draft Guidelines Stakeholder Comment Form via SurveyMonkey. The next popular method of feedback was comments provided through e-mail communication by 19% (14) of respondents. Finally, 3% (2) provided feedback during a phone interview. (See figure 1.)

Figure 2

The survey responses included information about the professional background of the respondents which help inform the commentary's perspective. The majority of comments were provided by public health stakeholders (42) followed by researchers (8). ISDS also received feedback from EHR/HIE technology vendors and one eligible healthcare professional or hospital. (See figure 2.)

Over the course of the next month, ISDS staff and the Meaningful Use Workgroup will continue to analyze the comments received and work to incorporate the responses and develop the Provisional Guidelines. The Provisional Guidelines will be released in June for a second round of public comment which will inform the release of the Final Guidelines due in September.

Until then, you can learn more information about the development of these guidelines by visiting the Meaningful Use webpage on the ISDS website. 


If you have any questions, you may contact Charlie Ishikawa, ISDS Associate Director of Public Health Programs, at meaningfuluse@syndromic.org or (617) 779-0886. 

New Syndromic Surveillance for Meaningful Use Resource

Syndromic Surveillance for Meaningful Use: Background and Resources

 

The International Society for Disease Surveillance (ISDS) announces the availability of the document, Syndromic Surveillance for Meaningful Use: Background and Resources (pdf), which was developed by ISDS to provide background information and resources to address a gap in understanding of the Meaningful Use (MUse) requirements related to the syndromic surveillance objective.

The MUse programs, enacted under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) of 2009, have launched a new opportunity to improve both individual and population health outcomes by capitalizing on the use of electronic health information. For Stage 1 of the program, providers must meet one of three public health related requirements in order to receive benefits. Syndromic Surveillance is one of the public health options.

Related Links:

Syndromic Surveillance for Meaningful Use: Inpatient and Ambulatory Clinical Care Data (current project)

ISDS Meaningful Use Resources