Abstract
Michigan has been collecting chief complaint data from emergency departments statewide to support situational awareness activities related to communicable disease since 2004. We validated the syndromic system by comparing the chief complaint data to the electronic medical records (EMR) of a tertiary hospital in southeast Michigan to better understand the utility of the system for non-communicable disease situations.Findings of this study will help determine the accuracy of the automated classification of data based on chief complaints. This study can add confidence in planning for public health preparedness activities and situational awareness.