Recorded presentation

Angela Anderson and Gretchen W. Torres, MPP. Health Research and Educational Trust, 1 N Franklin, 30th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606, 312-422-2657, thret3@aha.org

The ability of emergency departments to communicate with public health departments can point to the strength of communities’ public health infrastructure. The ED’s role as front-line responder to mass casualty and emerging health issues along with the likelihood of having 24/7 operations give them an advantage in early identification of a possible bioterrorism event or emerging epidemic. An ED that has systems in place to regularly communicate with the public health department will facilitate the health department’s response abilities. By virtue of their access to this information, EDs have a significant role in the public health infrastructure. To date, knowledge of the presence of such systems has been anecdotal.

HRET conducted a study of the capabilities and processes EDs use to communicate with public health departments. Data were collected via a survey of 600 randomly selected hospitals in the 20 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. Respondents included ED administrators, nursing directors, and medical directors. The survey questionnaire addressed the following issues: methods of communication with the local health department; communication and syndromic surveillance systems, equipment, and information dissemination processes; and ED participation in community-wide public health planning. Data analysis examined how ED communication capabilities and practices vary with respect to region, organizational control (public vs. nonprofit vs. for-profit), and size of hospital.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, participants will be able to
• identify what communications capabilities reside in emergency departments,
• describe what emergency communications capabilities reside in emergency departments today, and 3)describe how emergency departments communicate with public health departments on a routine and emergency basis.

Related Web page: www.hret.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation