Major article
Infection preventionists' awareness of and engagement in health information exchange to improve public health surveillance

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2012.10.022Get rights and content

Background

Advances in electronic health record (EHR) systems and health information exchange (HIE) are shifting efforts in public health toward greater use of information systems to automate notifiable disease surveillance. Little is known about infection preventionists' (IPs) awareness, adoption, and use of these technologies to report information to public health.

Methods

To measure awareness and engagement in EHR and HIE activities, an online survey of IPs was conducted in states with HIE networks. A total of 63 IPs was invited to participate; 44 IPs (69%) responded. The survey asked about the adoption and use of EHR systems, participation in regional HIE initiatives, and IP needs with respect to EHR systems and public health reporting.

Results

Over 70% of responding IPs reported access to an EHR system, but less than 20% of IPs with access to an EHR reported being involved in the design, selection, or implementation of the system. Just 10% of IPs reported that their organizations were formally engaged in HIE activities, and 49% were unaware of organizational involvement in HIE. IPs expressed a desire for better decision support, paperless reporting methods, and situational awareness of community outbreaks.

Conclusion

Many IPs lack awareness and engagement in EHR and HIE activities, which may limit IPs ability to influence or utilize key information technologies as they are implemented in health care organizations.

Section snippets

Methods

To measure awareness, perceptions, and engagement related to EHR and HIE activities, an online survey of IPs was conducted in late 2010. The survey asked respondents to indicate their organizations' adoption and use of EHR systems as well as participation in regional HIE initiatives. Respondents were further asked to provide their perceptions of the data and information available through EHR systems and HIE networks for notifiable disease reporting to public health agencies. Finally, the survey

Results

Forty-four IPs (69.8% of the target sample) responded to the survey. Surveys were considered complete if respondents provided answers to all of the required questions even if they did not answer all sections of the survey. Four surveys were discarded because the respondents failed to complete all of the required questions. A fifth survey was discarded because it was completed by a hospital Chief Information Officer who admitted knowing very little regarding the hospital's infection control

Discussion

Our survey explored a relatively sparse area in the literature, the utilization of health information technologies by IPs to advance infection control practice and public health. We asked IPs in selected states about their use of EHR systems and HIE networks to improve notifiable disease reporting. Insight and attention to infection control perceptions of and engagement in health information technologies will be increasingly important given the continued growth and expanded use of EHR systems

Conclusion

The US health care system is evolving through the adoption and use of health information technologies to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of health care delivery. Many IPs currently lack awareness and engagement in information technology activities, including ELR and HIE. An absence of IPs in the adoption of ELR and HIE technologies is a missed opportunity for IPs to influence the design and implementation of these technologies into health care organizations. Furthermore, a lack of

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    Conflicts of interest: None to report.

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