ER Surveillance Model

Colleen A Flanigan

New York State Dept. of Health

The Capital District Early Warning Surveillance System is a

"near-real-time" method for ascertaining ER activity in the Capital

District. This system is based soley on the electronic submission of ER

visits from the previous day at the 3 hospitals in this area. This number

is then compared to a daily threshold which was established using 4 years

worth of historical data collected from each facility. If the threshold is

exceeded an electronic alert is then sent to the submitting hospital to

conduct a further investigation. The goal of this system is not soley to

detect a bioterrorist event but any other large scale medical outbreak. We

realize that this system is sensitive however not specific.