Unfortunately, we live in a world where health care organizations and public health agencies need to prepare for epidemics and incidents of bioterrorism. The key to effectively combating the threat of disease out-breaks and bioterrorism is to provide all care givers (including hospitals and doctors offices) with a mechanism for sharing information with public health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and government agencies like the Office of Homeland Security. A centralized system for tracking symptoms and other seemingly isolated incidents among providers nationwide is a critical component in the ability to monitor trends, analyze data, and identify bioterrorism activity more quickly.

Many efforts are underway to help achieve this centralized system. The national EHR initiative, state and local EHR efforts, and the development of standard communication protocols have all laid considerable groundwork toward the sharing of information. MEDITECH is actively involved with many of these state and federal efforts and is working to ensure its customers are well-positioned as these efforts continue to evolve. In addition, MEDITECH has considerable experience in setting up and maintaining extensive data networks, which are integral to the sharing of vital health information—from affiliated hospital networks, to hospital chains, to entire regions in Canada.

Related Information

INHS ands Work in Major U.S. Disease-Warning Project

CDC Says I.T. Critical to Public Health Threat Response

Panel Eyes Ways to Enhance Hospital Communications