Process and Conceptual Modelling of an Epidemiological Information System

A critical element in the strategy to decrease antibiotic resistance in pathogens is based on prevention and intervention at the level of medical practitioners and clinical care centres and is predicated on decreasing antibiotic consumption and implementing adequate infection control policies [1]. This can only be made possible if the bi-directional information flow between the molecular biology laboratories and clinical care centres is managed in a global, consistent, reliable, and timely manner and this necessitates the use of an information system. The proposed Epidemiological Information System (EIS) is a network of clinical care centres, molecular biology laboratories, and biomathematics or biometry units, sharing an information system to automate the integration of data acquisition, management and analysis of epidemiological data.