Using Medications Sales from Retail Pharmacies for Syndromic Surveillance in Rural China

Authors

  • Weirong Yan Karolinska Institutet
  • Liwei Cheng Huazhong University of Science and Technology
  • Li Tan Huazhong University of Science and Technology
  • Miao Yu Fudan University
  • Shaofa Nie Huazhong University of Science and Technology
  • Biao Xu Fudan University
  • Lars Palm Future Position X
  • Vinod Diwan Karolinska Institutet

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/ojphi.v5i1.4490

Abstract

Drug sales data in syndromic surveillance has attracted particular interest in recent years, however few studies were conducted in resource-poor settings. This study is to establish a syndromic surveillance system using medications sales from retail pharmacies in rural China.123 drugs were selected under surveillance including antibiotics, antidiarrheal medications, antipyretics, compound cold medicine, and cough suppressants. During the beginning phase of the implementation, the reporting timeliness and completeness are satisfying, however further validation of the data will be required. Reporting mistakes were mainly due to system bugs, data provider unfamiliar with the system, and pharmacies reluctant to share data amongst others.

Author Biography

Weirong Yan, Karolinska Institutet

Dr. Weirong Yan is an Epidemiologist from China and also a Post-Doc at Division of Global Health (IHCAR), Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. Her research interests include disease surveillance system, epidemiology and control of infectious diseases, and health informatics. She is currently working in the EU supported FP7 project of developing an integrated surveillance system for infectious diseases in rural China.

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Published

2013-03-23

How to Cite

Yan, W., Cheng, L., Tan, L., Yu, M., Nie, S., Xu, B., … Diwan, V. (2013). Using Medications Sales from Retail Pharmacies for Syndromic Surveillance in Rural China. Online Journal of Public Health Informatics, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.5210/ojphi.v5i1.4490

Issue

Section

Poster Presentations