Electronic surveillance of disease states: a preliminary study in electronic detection of respiratory diseases in a primary care setting.

The present project is a step by step description of the creation of a computerized surveillance system using historical information derived from automated expert system acquisition. Since historical information is in many cases not sufficient for establishing an individual's medical diagnosis, the accuracy of surveillance is measured against the "gold standard" diagnosis provided by a panel of physicians. It was possible to survey within acceptable limits of accuracy in the conditions of the project. The results reveal a high level of sensitivity by computer surveillance as well as an accurate ability of electronic tracking of disease incidence over a period of time. However, further investigation into the accuracy of electronic surveillance and selection of symptoms used to define a disease should be studied. The feasibility of employing electronic historical medical information to survey disease has potential in providing real-time epidemiological data.