SOUTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, December 01, 2004
CONTACT: Kathlene Mueller (605) 773-3361

South Dakota’s electronic vital records and screening system national leader

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota’s Electronic Vital Records and Screening System (EVRSS) is one of just three programs in the nation to receive the Nicholas E. Davies Award of Excellence for Public Health. South Dakota will receive its award and be a featured presenter at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society annual conference February 13-17, 2005, in Dallas, Texas.

“This award is a huge honor for South Dakota. It recognizes our success in converting an antiquated paper-based system for collecting vital event data to a streamlined electronic system” said Kathlene Mueller, manager of the Department of Health’s Office of Data, Statistics and Vital Records. “This system means we have higher quality data in a more timely fashion and we can get records to the public quicker.”

The SD-EVRSS is a comprehensive, web-accessible data system that electronically collects birth, death, and marriage records. The system serves a diverse group including the general public who request copies of birth, death or marriage certificates and the hospitals, healthcare professionals and medical examiners who are required to report information to the department.

“This award is the culmination of a lot of hard work on the part of the hospitals, funeral homes, audiologists, physicians, coroners and the county Register of Deeds,” said Mueller. “We worked closely with these entities and their related associations to make sure the system met their needs. The EVRSS would not be a reality without them.”

The Davies Award program was created in 1995 to honor Dr. Nicholas Davies, an Atlanta-based physician committed to improving patient care through health information technology. The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society promotes the optimal use of information technology and management systems for healthcare.   

Pennsylvania’s Electronic Disease Reporting System and Utah’s Statewide Immunization Information System were the other programs recognized with the Davies Award for Excellence in Public Health.