United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Health, Education, and Human Services Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1999-02-05 monographic deposited born digital 84 p. GA 1.13:HEHS-99-26 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-99-26 P0b002ee18038c830 f:he99026 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-HEHS-99-26 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-HEHS-99-26 HEHS-99-26 Public health research Health care personnel Disease detection or diagnosis Infectious diseases Health research programs Laboratories Testing Federal/state relations Medical information systems CDC National Immunization Program CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service Program Letter Report HEHS

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the nation's infectious diseases surveillance network, focusing on the: (1) extent to which states conduct public health surveillance and laboratory testing of selected emerging infectious diseases; (2) problems state public health officials face in gathering and using laboratory-related data in the surveillance of emerging infectious diseases; and (3) assistance that the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides to states for laboratory-related surveillance and the value of this assistance to state officials.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) surveillance and testing for important emerging infectious diseases are not comprehensive in all states, leaving gaps in the nation's infectious diseases surveillance network; (2) GAO's survey found that most states conduct surveillance of five of the six emerging infectious diseases GAO asked about, and state public health laboratories conduct tests to support state surveillance of four of the six; (3) over half of the state laboratories do not conduct tests for surveillance of hepatitis C and penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae; (4) many state epidemiologists believe that their infectious diseases surveillance programs should expand, and they cited a need to gather more information on antibiotic-resistant diseases; (5) just over half of the state public health laboratories have access to advanced molecular technology, which could be valuable to all states' diseases surveillance efforts; (6) few states require the routine submission of specimens or isolated quantities of a pathogen from patients with certain diseases for testing in state laboratories--a step CDC has urged them to adopt to improve the quality of surveillance information; (7) many state laboratory directors and epidemiologists reported that inadequate staffing and information-sharing problems hinder their ability to generate and use laboratory data to conduct infectious diseases surveillance; (8) participants in the surveillance network often lack basic computer hardware or integrated systems to allow them to rapidly share information; (9) many state officials told GAO that they did not have sufficient staffing and technology resources, and public health officials have not agreed on a consensus definition of the minimum capabilities that state and local health departments need to conduct infectious diseases surveillance; (10) this lack of consensus makes it difficult to assess resource needs; (11) most state laboratory directors and epidemiologists placed high value on CDC's testing and consulting services, training, and grant funding and said these services were critical to their ability to use laboratory data to detect and monitor emerging infections; (12) state officials said CDC needs to better integrate its data systems and help states build systems that link them to local and private surveillance partners; and (13) state officials would like CDC to provide more hands-on training experience. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-99-26/html/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-99-26.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-99-26/pdf/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-99-26.pdf GAO/HEHS-99-26 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-99-26 Letter Report GAO/HEHS-99-26; Emerging Infectious Diseases: Consensus on Needed Laboratory Capacity Could Strengthen Surveillance; Public health research Health care personnel Disease detection or diagnosis Infectious diseases Health research programs Laboratories Testing Federal/state relations Medical information systems CDC National Immunization Program CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service Program Title 42 Section 280 42 U.S.C. 280 Public Law 104-191