Primary Care Clinics and Surveillance of Infectious Diseases

Public health surveillance for infectious diseases is highly compatible with the practice of primary care medicine and is enhanced by contextual and population-based elements when grounded in primary care. Moreover, there have been long and successful partnerships between primary care and public health for influenza monitoring. Surveillance programs can be based on sentinel, laboratory, or mechanistic approaches and need to reflect the needs of clinicians and the realities of the primary care environment. Participation in, and access to, surveillance information improves patient care through situational awareness, improving diagnostic acuity, and improving antimicrobial stewardship.