Data Collection and Reporting
This article explores the methodology for creating a minimum data set and interoperable reporting framework for effective surveillance of COVID-19. The framework was developed by the Iran Ministry of Health and Mental Education to streamline pandemic surveillance capacity. A combination of literature study and expert consensus approach was used to design a COVID-19 minimum data set (MDS), and the definitive data elements of the MDS were determined by applying the Delphi technique. Existing messaging and data standard templates (Health Level Seven-Clinical Document Architecture [HL7-CDA] and SNOMED-CT) were used to design the surveillance interoperable framework. This article looks at employee-based health plan beneficiary data from 2019 and 2020 to quantify changes in telemedicine and office-based care utilization. The study focuses on demographic and socioeconomic measures and found that telehealth utilization was affected disproportionately by age and poverty rate.