Monday, October 14, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Thursday, December 28, 2017
Auditor: Confusion, Discord at DoH Disease Outbreak Control Division
By Hawaii State Auditor @ 7:32 PM :: 4825 Views :: Health Care

Audit of the Disease Outbreak Control Division of the Department of Health

Hawaii State Auditor, Report No. 17-14,

Auditor’s Summary

What problems did the audit identify?

IN REPORT NO. 17-14, Audit of the Disease Outbreak Control Division of the Department of Health, we assessed the division’s surveillance and response to three disease outbreaks: dengue fever on Hawai‘i Island, hepatitis-A involving frozen scallops on O‘ahu and Kaua‘i, and salmonella-infected ogo on O‘ahu. We found that, during these outbreak responses, the Disease Outbreak Control Division (the Division) and the Department of Health (DOH) experienced communication breakdowns with other DOH divisions, State and County response representatives, and the general public. During the outbreaks, DOH did not have a formal communications plan that would have provided established guidance on issues such as the timing of the first public announcement about the outbreak and procedures for sharing outbreak information with other agency officials. The confusion and, at times, discord, may have been avoided if DOH had established and followed a full communications plan.

We also found that the Division has inconsistent processes and procedures for recordkeeping, internal reviews, and reporting. We note that neither DOH nor the Division could provide us with a comprehensive account, timeline, or summary of the outbreak responses. In addition, the Division does not follow the disease specific investigation protocols it does have in place. These deficiencies result in limited accountability to the public and could also result in missed investigation steps and possible delays and/ or replication of efforts during an outbreak response.

In our review of the summary and final reports for the outbreaks, we found that the Division’s final summary reports do not consistently follow a scientific format as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Division also does not consistently complete end-of-outbreak reviews, debriefs, or after-action reports. Such a review would help assess lessons learned and determine areas for improvement so that the Division is better prepared for future outbreaks.

Why do these problems matter?

As State agencies, the Division and DOH are obligated to collect and maintain proper records to help ensure an open and accountable government. State agencies must maintain sufficient documentation to allow the State Legislature — and more importantly, the public — to be assured that public resources are being used effectively, efficiently, and responsibly. Perhaps just as important is that proper recordkeeping preserves institutional memory, so that agency officials and their successors can make decisions informed by past results. In other words, even though a disease may be unique, with complete documentation and reliable data available for reference, the ensuing outbreak response need not be a one-of-a-kind effort.

read … Entire Report

HNN: Audit: State fumbled response to 3 recent outbreaks and 'reinvented the wheel' each time

SA: State auditor slams Health Department for bad communication  

HTH: Audit slams outbreak response: Poor communication by DOH during dengue crisis among issues cited in state report

CB: Audit: Hawaii Needs To Get Its Act Together In Responding To Outbreaks

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii