This system was designed to assist the Infection Control Departments of Barnes and Jewish Hospitals (teaching hospitals affiliated with the university) with their infection control activities. These activities include surveillance of microbiology cultures data. Reportable Diseases is an expert system, which applies state Public Health Department culture-based criteria for detecting “significant” infections, which are required to be reported to the state.

Most hospitals have infection control programs, which are aimed at the early detection and aggressive treatment of infections. The earlier an infection is discovered and treated, the less likely it is to spread to the community. For that reason, the Public Health Department requires that hospitals report certain types of communicable diseases, some of which can be detected through microbiology culture surveillance. Microbiology culture data from the hospital’s laboratory system are monitored by Reportable Diseases. Using a rulebase consisting of criteria developed by the state Public Health Department, Reportable Diseases scans the culture data and generates an “alert” to the infection control staff when a culture representing a “reportable” infection is detected. Reportable Diseases has been deployed at Barnes and Jewish Hospitals, tertiary-care teaching hospitals, since February 1995.

Reportable Diseases is a hospital-based system.

The system has been developed by the Washington University School of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine Division.

Michael Kahn kahn@osler.wustl.edu or Sherry Steib sherry@osler.wustl.edu.

Washington University School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Informatics, 660 South Euclid Campus, Box 8005, St. Louis, Missouri, 63110 USA, Phone: (314) 454-8651.