This week, the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) officially released Strengthening Syndromic Surveillance Data Sharing with Tribes and TECs: Report & Recommendations.
Syndromic Surveillance is the practice of tracking symptoms of patients in EDs and other settings – before and after a diagnosis is confirmed, all in near real-time – so that public health officials can detect unusual levels of illness to determine whether a response is needed. Syndromic data can serve as an early warning system to protect populations from respiratory viruses, environmental threats, avoidable injuries, emerging diseases, and more. Syndromic surveillance provides public health officials with a timely system for detecting, understanding, and responding to health threats.
The Report, released by NIHB, with support from the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), examines barriers to syndromic surveillance data sharing among States, Tribes, and TECs and offers recommendations to improve Tribal and TEC access to this data.
