The Fight against Zika: Leveraging Health IT
Executive Summary
Improvements can be achieved across the care continuum with changes in all stages of the healthcare cycle. An important part of a patient’s care is the lab testing and results that accompany a visit to a clinician. While most systems have the ability to establish contact between commercial labs and providers, public health labs do not have the ability to exchange this information electronically. Almost all Zika tests are performed at a public health lab and, because the information can’t be transmitted electronically, the orders, test results, and additional information (such as pregnancy status) are either sent via paper form or telephone. This is devastating for health care, especially where diseases such as Zika virus are concerned. As well as potentially improving care for patients, efficient data transmission is vital for public health preparedness and response. Resources can be directed for more efficient use and the increased information flow can assist in better epidemiological tracking of diseases.
With an extension of electronic test order and result technology, the project improves care in a number of ways: orders and results are transmitted in a faster and more efficient way, which leads to better information for the patient; builds a bridge between existing technology for an improved and efficient information exchange; and creates a better-prepared public health laboratory sector that can respond to testing requirements guidance from public health authorities.
This project utilizes a web-based platform to facilitate electronic lab order and results between electronic health records (EHRs) and the laboratory information management systems (LIMS) of the public health labs. The web-based platform already exists, but the interfaces between the EHRs/platform and the platform/LIMS don’t exist. To expand on the already-built system, the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) will consult with programming experts, state health officials, and state epidemiologists on requirements, ideal operation, and future scalability and extensibility. Over the course of the project, the team will implement initial instances of the project in Texas and Florida, states hardest hit by the Zika crisis, with a look to extending the system to a regional and national level.
A project supported by the: HHS Secretary's Ventures Fund
Team Members
Michael Baker (Project Lead), ONC
Jim Daniel, ONC
Rachel Abbey, ONC
Tom Novak, ONC
Lee Stevens, ONC
Daniel Chaput, ONC
Sanjeev Tandon, CDC
Milestones
March 2017: Project received support from the HHS Secretary's Ventures Fund
Project Sponsor
Jon White, Deputy National Coordinator, Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, Office of the Secretary, HHS
Contributing Partners:
Association of Public Health Laboratories (external association)
