Table.
Spearman rank-order correlation coefficients comparing weekly VA telephone triage influenza encounters with weekly VA and CDC health care use data, October 2, 2011, to September 26, 2015
| Telephone Triage Data | Health Care Use | Correlation Estimate (95% CI)a |
|---|---|---|
| Calls with ICD-9-CM 24 diagnosis code of influenza (N = 35 666) | VA influenza-coded hospitalizations (n = 9488) | 0.85 (0.80-0.88) |
| VA emergency department influenza-coded visits (n = 18 160) | 0.90 (0.87-0.92) | |
| VA ILI outpatient visits (n = 1 827 824) | 0.92 (0.90-0.94) | |
| VA influenza tests performed (n = 160 949) | 0.86 (0.82-0.89) | |
| VA positive influenza tests (n = 23 475) | 0.82 (0.77-0.86) | |
| VA influenza antiviral prescriptionsb (n = 74 139) | 0.89 (0.86-0.91) | |
| CDC FluSurv-NET hospitalizations (n = 41 872) | 0.82 (0.75-0.87) | |
| CDC FluView influenza tests performed (n = 1 835 079) | 0.84 (0.79-0.88) | |
| CDC FluView positive influenza tests (n = 294 896) | 0.82 (0.78-0.87) | |
| Calls with system concern for influenzac (N = 25 443) | VA influenza-coded hospitalizations (n = 9488) | 0.85 (0.81-0.89) |
| VA emergency department influenza-coded visits (n = 18 160) | 0.83 (0.79-0.87) | |
| VA ILI outpatient visits (n = 1 827 824) | 0.80 (0.74-0.84) | |
| VA influenza tests performed (n = 160 949) | 0.92 (0.90-0.94) | |
| VA positive influenza tests (n = 23 475) | 0.86 (0.82-0.89) | |
| VA influenza antiviral prescriptionsb (n = 74 139) | 0.89 (0.86-0.91) | |
| CDC FluSurv-NET hospitalizations (n = 41 872) | 0.84 (0.77-0.88) | |
| CDC FluView influenza tests performed (n = 1 835 079) | 0.89 (0.86-0.92) | |
| CDC FluView positive influenza tests (n = 294 896) | 0.81 (0.76-0.85) |
Abbreviations: CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; ICD-9-CM, International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification; ILI, influenza-like illness; VA, US Department of Veterans Affairs.
a P < .001 for all correlation coefficients.
bIncludes inpatient and outpatient orders for oseltamivir, zanamivir, and peramivir.
cSystem concern for influenza includes triage differential diagnoses of influenza, mild influenza, or severe influenza.