Korean J Nosocomial Infect Control.  2004 Dec;9(2):107-116.

Development of Computerized Surveillance Programs based on a Hospital Electronic Medical Records System

• Kang JH
• Kim HB
• Chin HJ
• Park KU
• Choi EH

Abstract

BACKGROUND: As information technology evolves rapidly computer-based surveillance systems for nosocomial infection have been developed. Well designed computerized system could provide an opportunity for improving, enlarging, and conducting hospital-wide surveillance more efficiently in the situation with limited resources. Recently, we launched a new computerized monitoring system in a hospital where digital medical information system has been operated without paper chart.
METHODS
We developed a new surveillance program based on the total Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system. Numerous critical medical information can be easily accessible through this system without further work. This includes major demographic data, essential information from the inpatient medical record, the laboratory information system, and the pharmacy information, Comprehensive Clinical Data Repository (CDR) system was also developed. CDR is potentially very useful to conduct a hospital-wide surveillance by integrating all the available information.
RESULTS
This system consists of several programs in the EMR and the CDR environment. In the EMR system, inquiry for patients with fever, case ascertainment and registration of nosocomial infections, inquiry for patients with indwelling devices, microbiological reports, and data on antibiotic prescriptions were included. The CDR has integrated comprehensive inquiries for frequency of major pathogens in clinical isolates and their trends of antibiotic resistance, nosocomial infection rates based on the duration of the devices or hospitalization, and the history of antimicrobial usage based on defined daily dosage. Data obtained from the EMR and the CDR systems could be easily accessed by infectious diseases specialists and healthcare workers of infection control services at any place within the hospital. A new reporting system has been built up to facilitate identification of notifiable diseases among the list of diagnoses on the EMR. In addition, the "Alert" notice was designed to highlight isolation precautions for indicated cases.
CONCLUSION
This new computerized surveillance program might be a valuable model to which other hospitals can refer to develop newer version of programs in the future.

Keyword

Electronic Medical Record (EMR); Clinical Data Repository (CDR); Infection control; Computer-based surveillance

MeSH Terms

Clinical Laboratory Information Systems
Communicable Diseases
Cross Infection
Delivery of Health Care
Diagnosis
Drug Resistance, Microbial
Electronic Health Records*
Fever
Hospitalization
Humans
Infection Control
Information Systems
Inpatients
Medical Records
Pharmacy
Prescriptions
Specialization