Resource Summary
Accurate HIV surveillance data are essential to monitor trends to help end the HIV epidemic, however, HIV surveillance data have not been routinely shared across jurisdictions except a biannual case-by-case review process to identify and remove duplicate cases (Routine Interstate Duplicate Review, RIDR). HIV surveillance estimates for the District of Columbia (DC) are complicated by migration and care seeking throughout the metropolitan area, which includes Maryland and Virginia. To address gaps in HIV surveillance data, health departments of DC, Maryland, and Virginia established HIV surveillance data sharing agreements. In this article, the results of that cross-jurisdictional sharing arrangement for the three public health departments are reviewed. The data exchange reduced the number of cases misclassified as DC residents and reduced the number of cases needing RIDR by 74 percent for DC-Maryland and 81 percent for DC-Virginia, making the HIV surveillance operations data-to-care efforts more efficient and accurate. Cross-jurisdictional communicable disease surveillance data exchange is feasible and may benefit other areas in the United States with substantial population movement across states or jurisdiction boundaries.
Available Online: https://publichealth.jmir.org/2018/3/e62/