The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends periodic tuberculin skin testing of healthcare workers with potential exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. However, many healthcare facilities have neither a system to identify workers due for their skin test nor a means of analyzing aggregate data. To illustrate some of the complexities involved in tuberculin skin test (TST) tracking and analysis, and how these might be addressed, this report describes a software package called staffTRAK-TB, developed by the CDC to facilitate surveillance of tuberculosis infection in healthcare workers. staffTRAK-TB records data for each healthcare worker, including demographic information, occupation, work location, multiple TST results, and results of evaluations to determine if clinically active tuberculosis is present. Programmed reports include lists of workers due and overdue for skin tests, and skin test conversion rates by occupation or worksite. Standardization of types of occupations and locations allows data from multiple facilities to be aggregated and compared. Data transfer to the CDC can be performed via floppy diskettes. staffTRAK-TB illustrates important issues in software structure, standardization of occupation and work-location information, relevant data items, and reports and analyses that would be useful in practice. Developing software that adequately addresses the epidemiological issues is complex, and the lessons learned may serve as a model for hospital epidemiologists, infection control personnel, occupational health personnel, and computer programmers considering software development in this area or trying to optimize their facility's TST surveillance.

To assess the opinions of healthcare workers (HCWs) about a satellite videoconference as a means of earning continuing education credit, a telephone survey was conducted in September 1998, 1 month after a live interactive satellite video-conference on antimicrobial use and resistance. There were 180 registered sites in 45 states surveyed, representing 1,589 viewers: 764 nurses (48.1%), 201 physicians (12.6%), and 624 other HCWs (39.3%). Continuing education credit was requested by 51% of nurses, 31% of physicians, and 27% of all other HCWs. Although preferred learning formats varied, 70% of respondents said it was important to offer continuing education credit. Furthermore, 31% of the respondents stated that the video-conference influenced institutional strategies. We concluded that satellite videoconferences are a method to reach audiences around the world efficiently and effectively, provide the latest information, facilitate interaction, and meet some of the demand for continuing education credit for HCWs.