Feds to bolster physician-public health partnership. (Emphasis on Local Health Departments).

In response to anthrax bioterrorism, the federal government is strengthening partnerships between physicians and public health departments at the local level, Tommy G. Thompson, secretary of health and human services, announced.

"I've requested at least one federally funded epidemiologist graduated from the epidemiology intelligence service training program at [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] in every state health department and every regional office," he said during a CDC-sponsored Webcast, "Anthrax: What Every Clinician Should Know."

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also has requested $88 million to build partnerships between clinicians and the public health sector, as well as $50 million to increase the number of metropolitan medical response systems from 97 to 122.

To assist physicians in identifying local public health contacts for information and case reporting, the CDC has established a new health agency locator system at www.statepublichealth.org/index.php.

The interplay between clinical practice and local and state health departments has never been more critical, acknowledged Dr. Jeffrey P. Koplan, who is the director of the CDC. "In the Florida [anthrax] outbreak, an astute clinician played a crucial role in getting appropriate lab samples to a state health department, resulting in an early diagnosis.

Dr. Koplan advised physicians to be aware of the possibility of anthrax and other bioterrorism attacks.

"Think about whether there's anything unusual about a case, or a clustering that's unusual," he said during the broadcast, designed to get clinicians quickly up to speed on anthrax diagnosis and treatment.