Computerized Infection Control Surveillance

The ongoing H1N1 influenza pandemic has provided a vivid reminder that hospitals are on the front lines of infectious disease monitoring, identification, and reporting in their communities. And, within hospitals, infection prevention professionals are key players—both in managing and coordinating the responses of their institutions to ongoing infectious disease challenges and in preparing for future outbreaks. Though the current influenza outbreak in the United States so far has been less serious than originally feared, a recent report found that even the relatively mild outbreak overwhelmed the U.S. healthcare system. The June 2009 report from the Trust for America’s Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Biosecurity found that communication between government agencies and healthcare providers was not well coordinated,