Public health labs to get assist sharing Zika virus test data electronically

Although almost all laboratories testing for the Zika virus is conducted at public health labs, most of these labs presently don’t have the capability to electronically exchange information like orders and test results.

Although, a joint project between the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is trying to develop a national system for order entry and test reporting so that public health labs can interface with providers’ electronic health records (EHRs), replacing the current manual procedure between providers and labs.

The organizations are also partnering with the Association of Public Health Laboratories, in accordance to Michael Baker, an analyst in ONC’s Office of Policy.

“There is a huge distribution of Zika virus cases that have been laboratory confirmed. And, it is shocking that we do not have a way that this information can get around efficiently and completely, which could slow care,” stated Baker, who noted that in 2016 there were more than 5,000 cases of the mosquito-borne illness in the contiguous U.S. and more than 36,000 cases in the U.S. Territories.

So far, in the year of 2017, there are just 110 Zika cases in the U.S. But, the outbreak will ramp up as this year’s mosquito season progresses, and “the creation of this system is going to assist us track those cases better,” he added.

“We need to make sure that any Zika data that is developed gets into the right hands quickly and is seen by the right stakeholders at the right time,” claimed Michelle Meigs, senior informatics program manager at the Association of Public Health Laboratories. “The tools that are in place right now to handle that data and specimens throughout the testing lifecycle are really lacking.”

To facilitate electronic transmission and sharing of public health labs test data, Meigs offered that the project will leverage Health Level 7 International’s emerging Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standard and a web portal for providers. “We’re going to be looking at not just instituting the HL7 test order and results standard between the portal and the laboratory, but also hopefully from the EHR itself through the portal and to the laboratory,” she added.

Among the aims of the project, which is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, is to make sure that public health labs get a standard pregnancy status with electronic lab orders. Because Zika can be passed to fetuses, possibly causing severe fetal birth defects, capturing pregnancy status and sharing the data with public health partners is crucial to documenting Zika infection in pregnant ladies and informing interventions.

“We need to be able to detect those cases and prioritize those testing regions so we know to inform the women, possibly, between providers and public health labs as fast as they can so they can work with their providers for monitoring,” said Baker.

Part of the HHS Ventures Fund, the CDC-ONC project was one of 5 entrepreneurial projects selected for growth-stage funding—$375,000 in total—to advance the department’s innovation agenda.

“This project would enable efficient data transmission and make better care for sufferers by transmitting orders and results in a faster and more efficient way,” states an HHS announcement. “Furthermore, this would develop the capacity of public health laboratories to respond and manage future changes in testing requirements guidance from public health authorities.”

Baker claimed that Florida and Texas have committed to be pilot sites for the project, as most of the U.S. Zika cases are located in those 2 states. “Once we get these pilots up and running, other states and other state public health labs will hopefully agree to take part in this,” he summarized.