Monday, December 22, 2008

Sermo software follows flu outbreaks

By Marc Songini

Cambridge-based software maker Sermo Inc. has launched a new flu tracking application to assist physicians to prepare for flu outbreaks.

The company this week announced the Sermo FluMonitor, an online exchange presented through the Sermo website, exclusively for physicians. Some 100,000 doctors have signed on to the service, which allows them to report any incidence of flu they encounter in their local region. Additionally, doctors using the Sermo exchange can collaborate with one another and share bedside data and medical opinions.

The FluMonitor interface can show such things as the number of new cases in the past seven days, along with the percentage of increase of outbreak over the prior week. It also can list the main symptoms manifested and the age of the patients. The FluMonitor could help hospitals track outbreaks of the flu and be more prepared in their staffing and supplies. Doctors could monitor local flu patterns and decide if a costly and unnecessary flu test can be avoided.

Another unique feature of the FluMonitor is that doctors can report their clinical findings in real time for distribution. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) now distributes information 10 to 14 days after a positive laboratory diagnosis, noted Sermo’s chief medical officer Adam Sharp. He also said, however, “The FluMonitor is not intended to replace but to augment the information being disseminated by the CDC.”

Sharp said there is no fee charged to doctors to participate. According to the CDC, an average of 36,000 people in the U.S. die from the flu each year, and 200,000 people are hospitalized from complications.