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The rapid implementation of a statewide emergency health information system during the 1993 Iowa flood.

P W O'Carroll, A Friede, E K Noji, S R Lillibridge, D J Fries and C G Atchison

Public Health Information Systems Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.

In the face of disastrous flooding, the Iowa Department of Public Health established the statewide Emergency Computer Communications Network to establish rapid electronic reporting of disaster-related health data, provide e-mail communications among all county health departments, monitor the long-range public health effects of the disaster, and institute a general purpose public health information system in Iowa. Based on software (CDC WONDER/PC) provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and using standard personal computers and modems, this system has resulted in a 10- to 20-fold increase in surveillance efficiency at the health department, not including time saved by county network participants. It provides a critical disaster assessment capability to the health department but also facilitates the general practice of public health.