MINNEAPOLIS, January 2, 2008—A "sting" study conducted almost two years ago suggests that many physicians will hit a wall with health departments should they try to report the outbreak of serious infectious disease.

In the study, researchers pretending to be doctors called their local health department to report a potentially dangerous disease outbreak. Only one in three local health departments connected the researchers with a trained public health professional within 30 minutes.

The 30-minute target is important. At the time the research was conducted, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that a trained public health professional be available to hear the details of any outbreak in less than 30 minutes from the time the phone is answered.

To take longer than 30 minutes seriously undermines the capability to respond to the emergency.

A timely response is vital in a real disease outbreak, the Rand Corporation research team told HealthDay.

For the study, conducted between May and October 2006, the research team placed five to 10 unannounced tests on the telephone-based disease-reporting systems of a representative sample of 74 local health departments nationally. They placed a total of 596 calls posing as a local doctor or nurse seeking to report an urgent, confidential infectious disease case to a trained public health professional.

When the callers reached the public professional, they said the call was just a test, and no further action was needed.

The callers were on hold an average of 63 minutes before they were able to talk to a trained professional, according to the study, published in the February edition of the American Journal of Public Health.

In one case, the researchers in the survey reported waiting more than 16 hours and 43 minutes to speak to a trained health professional.

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