ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors demonstrate the ways to use emergency department (ED) data. Most EDs have adopted an electronic medical records system, which provides a data source that can be used by many syndromic surveillance systems in real time or near real time. The primary purpose of syndromic surveillance is to detect and respond to potential public health emergencies. The authors look at the climate and weather explicitly, as many events relating to public health are weather related, such as hurricane, tornado, heat wave, and cold spell. In fact, medical professionals have long thought that weather and climate act both directly and indirectly on human health, triggering various physiological responses and physical behaviors. Given that climate change will increase the intensity and frequency of extreme weather, there is a need to develop weather–health indicators that can be used to track climate-induced health risks.
