Table 1.
Description of sources of surveillance information included in the survey
| Source of surveillance information | Considered syndromic | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Public health laboratory tests | No | Confirmatory reports of cases with infectious diseases from public health laboratory testing |
| iPHIS | No | Ontario's reportable disease database containing local and provincial information collected and entered by PHU personnel from active follow-up of individuals with a laboratory-confirmed reportable infectious disease |
| School absenteeism | Yes | All cause or illness-related school absenteeism rates or counts |
| Community sentinel ILI consults | Yes | Counts or rates of patients seeking care from community sentinel practitioners (physicians and nurse practitioners) with symptoms of ILI as a proportion of all patients seeking medical care |
| ED visits | Yes | Data based on patient visits to EDs such as total patients seeking care and counts by chief complaints categorized by syndrome |
| Telehealth | Yes | All cause or symptom-related call data from a free nurse consultation telephone service provided by the MOHLTC |
| Hospital/clinic screening data (includes ED screening) | Yes | Screening data (usually for ILI or febrile respiratory illness) from patients seeking care in hospital EDs or clinics regardless of chief complaint |
| Workplace absenteeism | Yes | All cause or illness-related absenteeism rates or counts in a workplace |
| Outpatient data | Yes | Information from health care providers in an outpatient setting |
| Pharmacy sales | Yes | Data from over-the-counter or prescription drug sales |
| Emergency medical service/911 call data | Yes | Data collected by emergency medical services personnel or from calls to 911 |