US officials set up alerts for possible measles cases
US DOCTORS are tapping into their electronic medical records to identify unvaccinated patients and potentially infected individuals to help contain the worst measles outbreak in 25 years.
New York’s NYU Langone Health network of hospitals and medical offices treats patients from both Rockland County and Brooklyn, two epicentres of the outbreak. It has built alerts into its electronic medical records system to notify doctors and nurses that a patient lives in an outbreak area.
“It identifies incoming patients who may have been exposed to measles and need to be assessed,” said Dr Michael Phillips, chief epidemiologist at NYU Langone Health.
Alerts in a patient’s medical record also prompt conversations with their visitors – who may also have been exposed to the virus – about their own health, prior exposure to measles and vaccination history.
Mount Sinai Health System in New York rolled out a similar programme last week, said Dr Bruce Darrow, its chief medical information officer.
Darrow said it was important because although a patient who came from a measles-affected area may have passed the screening, family members who visit may have been exposed.
He said the alert system raised awareness for doctors and nurses “to be on the lookout not just for our patients, but anybody who comes into the building”.
US officials have reported more than 700 confirmed cases of measles, the highest level since the virus was deemed eliminated in 2000.
The measles virus is highly contagious and can cause blindness, deafness, brain damage or death.
The alerts were developed using software from Wisconsin-based Epic Medical Systems. Epic, whose medical records software is used by thousands of hospitals and clinics, said other customers began requesting their help to address the outbreak. In response, Epic released a how-to guide last month that incorporated many of the best ideas from its customers fighting the outbreak.
So far, Epic clients in New York, Illinois, Texas and California are using the system to fight the outbreak.
Illinois has confirmed seven measles cases this year. In response to reports of a potential case in the Chicago area, two hospitals in the suburbs last month sent hundreds of letters to parents urging them to ensure their children got their measles shots.
“We wanted to do everything we could before it got to us,” said Dr Michael Caplan, co-medical director of a paediatric partnership between Advocate Children’s Hospital and North University HealthSystem. California so far has had 40 measles cases.
According to the World Health Organisation, 95% of a population needs to be vaccinated to provide “herd immunity”, a form of indirect protection that prevents infection in people too young or sick to be vaccinated. CDC officials have said rising rates of vaccine scepticism are creating under-vaccinated populations, weakening herd immunity. If herd immunity is not sufficient and exposures continue, the outbreak could take off, said Caplan. “Everybody is a little concerned about that.”