ED clinicians utilize WEBeMARS to report the progress of the H1N1 flu pandemic

EDIMS LLC, a leading provider of interoperable emergency department (ED) information management systems for hospitals, announced today that 22 of its client EDs in New York and New Jersey are reporting daily on the progress of the H1N1 flu pandemic to their state health departments. Sixteen hospitals in central and northern New Jersey, as well as five hospitals in southern New York state and one facility in New York City, are generating the daily reports from EDIMS’ WEB Emergency Analysis & Reporting System (WEBeMARS).

The WEBeMARS reports show the total number of patients presenting with flulike symptoms in each county served by the hospitals using EDIMS. In addition, the program breaks down these patients into those with respiratory systems and those with gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. The report also shows how many patients have cold symptoms and how many have fever/flu symptoms.

The EDs that use EDIMS have long reported data to state health departments on a host of disease syndromes, including H1N1 influenza. They use the WEBeMARS analytics program and data warehouse to track disease syndromes. This approach allows them to pick up not only disease outbreaks but also bioterrorism attacks, should any occur.

Until recently, the ED reports were made on a monthly basis. EDIMS’ decision to shift to daily reporting for swine flu was motivated by the classification of the disease as a pandemic and its observance of significant increases in patients presenting with flulike symptoms. EDs that use EDIMS employ the WEBeMARS reports to anticipate the patient volume increases caused by pandemic spikes.

“We are doing everything we can to support our hospital partners in combating this dangerous disease and to ensure that everyone who contracts it receives optimal care in the EDs that use our EHR,” commented Shane Hade, CEO of EDIMS. “Our daily reports to state health departments help the authorities predict the spread of H1N1 and take appropriate steps for management of this pandemic.”

EDIMS, which was developed by ED clinicians, also provides guidelines and the latest recommendations for H1N1 screening and treatment to all of its customers through its clinical decision support tools. Owned by Alpha Physician Resources, an ED practice management company, EDIMS is keeping all of APR’s employed physicians apprised of the pandemic’s course and of the strategies required to contain it. EDIMS-equipped EDs see over 1 million patients per year.