TY - JOUR
T1 - Electronic reporting of diagnostic laboratory test results from all healthcare sectors is a cornerstone of national preparedness and control of COVID-19 in Denmark
AU - Schønning, Kristian
AU - Dessau, Ram Benny
AU - Jensen, Thøger Gorm
AU - Thorsen, Nicklas Myrthue
AU - Wiuff, Camilla
AU - Nielsen, Lene
AU - Gubbels, Sophie
AU - Denwood, Matt
AU - Thygesen, Uffe Høgsbro
AU - Christensen, Lasse Engbo
AU - Møller, Camilla Holten
AU - Møller, Jens Kjølseth
AU - Ellermann-Eriksen, Svend
AU - Østergaard, Christian
AU - Lam, Janni Uyen Hoa
AU - Abushalleeh, Nour
AU - Meaidi, Marianna
AU - Olsen, Stefan
AU - Mølbak, Kåre
AU - Voldstedlund, Marianne
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 APMIS. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented demand for real-time surveillance data in order to inform critical decision makers regarding the management of the pandemic. The aim of this review was to describe how the Danish national microbiology database, MiBa, served as a cornerstone for providing data to the real-time surveillance system by linkage to other nationwide health registries. The surveillance system was established on an existing IT health infrastructure and a close network between clinical microbiologists, information technology experts, and public health officials. In 2020, testing capacity for SARS-CoV-2 was ramped up from none to over 10,000 weekly PCR tests per 100,000 population. The crude incidence data mirrored this increase in testing. Real-time access to denominator data and patient registries enabled adjustments for fluctuations testing activity, providing robust data on crude SARS-CoV-2 incidence during the changing diagnostic and management strategies. The use of the same data for different purposes, for example, final laboratory reports, information to the public, contact tracing, public health, and science, has been a critical asset for the pandemic response. It has also raised issues concerning data protection and critical capacity of the underlying technical systems and key resources. However, even with these limitations, the setup has enabled decision makers to adopt timely interventions. The experiences from COVID-19 may motivate a transformation from traditional indicator-based public health surveillance to an all-encompassing information system based on access to a comprehensive set of data sources, including diagnostic and reference microbiology.
AB - The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented demand for real-time surveillance data in order to inform critical decision makers regarding the management of the pandemic. The aim of this review was to describe how the Danish national microbiology database, MiBa, served as a cornerstone for providing data to the real-time surveillance system by linkage to other nationwide health registries. The surveillance system was established on an existing IT health infrastructure and a close network between clinical microbiologists, information technology experts, and public health officials. In 2020, testing capacity for SARS-CoV-2 was ramped up from none to over 10,000 weekly PCR tests per 100,000 population. The crude incidence data mirrored this increase in testing. Real-time access to denominator data and patient registries enabled adjustments for fluctuations testing activity, providing robust data on crude SARS-CoV-2 incidence during the changing diagnostic and management strategies. The use of the same data for different purposes, for example, final laboratory reports, information to the public, contact tracing, public health, and science, has been a critical asset for the pandemic response. It has also raised issues concerning data protection and critical capacity of the underlying technical systems and key resources. However, even with these limitations, the setup has enabled decision makers to adopt timely interventions. The experiences from COVID-19 may motivate a transformation from traditional indicator-based public health surveillance to an all-encompassing information system based on access to a comprehensive set of data sources, including diagnostic and reference microbiology.
KW - COVID-19
KW - electronic reporting
KW - microbiological test results
KW - national surveillance
U2 - 10.1111/apm.13140
DO - 10.1111/apm.13140
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 33949007
AN - SCOPUS:85107264556
VL - 129
SP - 438
EP - 451
JO - A P M I S. Acta Pathologica, Microbiologica et Immunologica Scandinavica
JF - A P M I S. Acta Pathologica, Microbiologica et Immunologica Scandinavica
SN - 0903-4641
IS - 7
ER -