The Public Health Informatics Institute at the Task Force for Global Health, Decatur, Georgia (Ms Rembert, Dr O'Carroll, and Ms Hale); Puerto Rico Department of Health, San Juan, Puerto Rico (Ms Licier); CMT Consulting, LLC, Lakewood, Ohio (Ms McPhillips-Tangum); and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (Dr Zometa).
J Public Health Manag Pract. 2021;27(3):E143-E150. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000001130.
In 2016, Puerto Rico became the focal point of the Zika epidemic, with more than 36 000 laboratory-confirmed cases before August. The Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH) responded by providing tests to symptomatic and asymptomatic pregnant women. The increased demand for Zika testing placed unprecedented strain on the laboratory capacity and information management processes used within the PRDH. The PRDH recognized the need to have an updated informatics system that securely manages, stores, and transmits digital data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded the Public Health Informatics Institute to collaborate with the PRDH to assess and improve the informatics capability to respond to the ongoing Zika virus transmission in Puerto Rico.
The team employed a 4-component approach to assess the informatics system and improve the information management processes for laboratory testing and reporting of arboviral diseases (Zika, chikungunya, and dengue). The method consisted of a (1) needs assessment, (2) business process analysis and requirements definition, (3) vendor analysis, and (4) solution implementation.
The needs assessment determined that the PRDH's procedures for arbovirus testing and reporting were highly complex and paper-based and thus did not maximize the use of existing technology. The solution was to build a Web portal. The business process analysis yielded information to create a map of the flow of specimens, an arbovirus context diagram, and more than 200 requirements. The requirements identified in this process guided the design and creation of the Web portal.
This report describes the process to build a Web portal to enhance laboratory testing and electronic reporting of Zika cases during the 2016 epidemic in Puerto Rico. We demonstrate the utility of applying the Collaborative Requirements Development Methodology, a proven informatics method, to the development of a Web portal for managing arboviruses in a health department.
2016 年，波多黎各成为寨卡疫情的焦点，截至 8 月，已有超过 36000 例实验室确诊病例。波多黎各卫生部（PRDH）通过为有症状和无症状的孕妇提供检测做出回应。寨卡检测需求的增加给 PRDH 内部使用的实验室能力和信息管理流程带来了前所未有的压力。PRDH 认识到需要拥有一个更新的信息系统，以安全地管理、存储和传输数字数据。疾病控制与预防中心为公共卫生信息学研究所提供资金，与 PRDH 合作，评估和改进信息学能力，以应对波多黎各正在进行的寨卡病毒传播。
该团队采用了四部分方法来评估信息系统，并改进实验室检测和报告虫媒病毒病（寨卡、基孔肯雅热和登革热）的信息管理流程。该方法包括（1）需求评估，（2）业务流程分析和需求定义，（3）供应商分析，和（4）解决方案实施。
需求评估确定 PRDH 的虫媒病毒检测和报告程序非常复杂且基于纸质，因此没有最大限度地利用现有技术。解决方案是构建一个 Web 门户。业务流程分析产生了创建标本流程图、虫媒病毒上下文图和 200 多项需求的信息。该过程中确定的需求指导了 Web 门户的设计和创建。
本报告描述了构建一个 Web 门户的过程，以增强 2016 年波多黎各寨卡疫情期间的实验室检测和电子报告。我们展示了应用经过验证的信息学方法——协作需求开发方法来开发卫生部门管理虫媒病毒的 Web 门户的实用性。
