SBAR - Burden for Handling WebSurv Interfaced CD Cases

  1. Situation: (Brief description of the current issue or situation requiring project/program.)

Local Public Health Agencies (LPHAs) are being forced to dedicate unnecessary time handling communicable disease (CD) cases that in actuality belong to other jurisdictions. This issue stems fromthe lackingof vital jurisdiction-identifying case information (i.e. client address and ordering provider of test),of CD cases interfaced into WebSurv.

  1. Background: (Relevant background data about current situation and current and past approaches to the situation)

For years now, WebSurv has been interfaced with various laboratory systems including, for example, Boyce and Bynum Pathology Laboratories (BBPL), a prominent laboratory often utilized by clinics and hospitals in Central District. Many of these CD cases directly interfaced into WebSurv lack vital jurisdiction-identifying information (i.e. client’s address and ordering provider of test) and are thus flagged to counties simply based on the location of the “Submitter” (submitting facility for testing such as BBPL).

The laboratories that are interfaced with WebSurv are larger in nature and capability and, thus, are typically located in larger, metropolitan/urban areas/counties. When a county is notified of these CD cases (that lack client address and ordering provider information) in WebSurv, staff must make often multiple phone calls per case to obtain said lacking information. Often, staff determine that thecase initially flagged to them doesn’t even reside in their jurisdiction and the case is forwarded to the appropriate county accordingly. It is also unfortunately not uncommon for more than one county to unnecessarily handle a single CD case (e.g. interfaced CD case initially flagged to Boone County is flagged to Cole County (based on ordering provider info obtained by Boone County staff from laboratory) and then flagged to Osage County (based on client address info obtained by Cole County staff from ordering provider office).

This burden of spending unnecessary time on “other jurisdiction” cases falls disproportionately on larger counties in which said laboratories and larger hospital systems are located. It is not uncommon for the counties that carry the bulk of this burden to handle more “other jurisdiction” cases interfaced into WebSurv than interfaced cases that reside in their own county.

  1. Assessment: (Your assessment about the situation and description of project or program that might address the situation.)

Boone and Cole Counties have estimated that an average 10 minutes is expended per interfaced case belonging to other jurisdictions. For larger counties taking the brunt of this burden, this equates to as much as 40-plus wasted man hours each month.

  1. Recommendation/ Request: (policy, personnel, other resources needed to accomplish the project or program)

Collaboration needs to occur between key groups including MO’s ITSD and the many laboratories, hospital systems, etc. that interface with WebSurv to improve the interfacing of data by including vital jurisdiction-identifying information including client address and ordering provider.

Changes need to be made to decrease the burden of unnecessary time LPHAs are forced to spend on handling interfaced (into WebSurv) CD cases that belong to other jurisdictions.