Surveillance Webinar: Introduction to Public Health Surveillance: Part III – Recent Developments-Surveillance Webinar: Introduction to Public Health Surveillance Part III

Surveillance Webinar: Introduction to Public Health Surveillance Part III – Recent Developments PPT Slides

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This webinar reviewed recent developments in public health surveillance, focusing on how reporting has evolved from paper-based systems to more automated, data-driven approaches. It began with the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (NNDSS), noting that states and territories have legal authority to collect disease data and voluntarily share deidentified information with CDC. CSTE and CDC determine nationally notifiable conditions, though final reporting decisions remain state-based.<br /><br />The presentation highlighted longstanding problems with traditional reporting: incomplete data and delays caused by mail, fax, phone, and manual entry. To improve timeliness, completeness, and accuracy, three major innovations were discussed: electronic laboratory reporting (ELR), electronic health record-based case reporting (eCR), and wastewater-based surveillance.<br /><br />ELR automates lab reporting from laboratory information systems and has been shown to improve both speed and completeness compared with paper reporting. However, it is less effective for complex conditions and often requires follow-up for missing patient information. eCR, developed by CDC and CSTE, uses EHR data, standardized case definitions, coding systems, and the Reportable Condition Knowledge Management System (RCKMS) to identify and route reportable cases automatically. Its use expanded rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching over 61,000 facilities by April 2026.<br /><br />Wastewater surveillance was presented as a population-based method that captures pathogens and substances excreted into community sewage, independent of healthcare access. Current systems such as CDC’s NWSS, WastewaterSCAN, and Biobot monitor respiratory and gastrointestinal viruses, emerging pathogens, and in some cases drugs and metabolites.<br /><br />The webinar concluded by emphasizing future challenges: ensuring legal and technical infrastructure, managing data “noise,” balancing sensitivity and specificity, involving stakeholders, and sustaining funding.

Keywords

public health surveillance

NNDSS

electronic laboratory reporting

eCR

wastewater surveillance

CDC

CSTE

reportable conditions

EHR data

data-driven reporting