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Objective: To estimate the proportion of independent small animal veterinary medical practices in Massachusetts that use electronic veterinary medical records (EVMRs), determine the purposes for which EVMRs are used, and identify perceived barriers to their use., Design: Survey., Sample: 100 veterinarians., Procedures: 213 of 517 independent small animal veterinary practices operating in Massachusetts were randomly chosen for study recruitment. One veterinarian at each practice was invited by telephone to answer a hardcopy survey regarding practice demographics, medical records type (electronic, paper, or both), purposes of EVMR use, and perceived barriers to adoption. Surveys were mailed to the first 100 veterinarians who agreed to participate. Practices were categorized by record type and size (large [≥ 5 veterinarians], medium [3 to 4 veterinarians], or small [1 to 2 veterinarians])., Results: 84 surveys were returned; overall response was 84 of 213 (39.4%). The EVMRs were used alone or together with paper records in 66 of 82 (80.5%) practices. Large and medium-sized practices were significantly more likely to use EVMRs combined with paper records than were small practices. The EVMRs were most commonly used for ensuring billing, automating reminders, providing cost estimates, scheduling, recording medical and surgical information, and tracking patient health. Least common uses were identifying emerging infectious diseases, research, and insurance. Eleven veterinarians in paper record-only practices indicated reluctance to change, anticipated technological problems, time constraints, and cost were barriers to EVMR use., Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Results indicated EVMRs were underutilized as a tool for tracking and improving population health and identifying emerging infectious diseases. Efforts to facilitate adoption of EVMRs for these purposes should be strengthened by the veterinary medical, human health, and public health professions.

The major premise of One Health is engagement of multiple disciplines to address shared problems spanning human, animal, and ecosystem health. The current model of academic specialization encourages development of isolated disciplines within the university setting, thereby creating barriers to resource sharing and academic collaboration. The aim of this project was to develop a systematic approach to mapping university assets that could be harnessed to advance One Health education. Asset in this context was defined as a course, program, or faculty expertise relevant to a particular One Health problem. The approach adopted comprised the following steps: (1) identify a current problem that would benefit from an integrated, interdisciplinary perspective (e.g., EIDs [emerging infectious diseases]); (2) identify individual disciplinary teaching areas pertinent to the problem (e.g., health communication, wildlife ecology); (3) identify competencies expected to be attained by graduates who will address the problem (e.g., respond to outbreaks); (4) survey faculty members on their teaching areas and curricular offerings that address these competencies; and (5) compile responses in a database that is searchable by teaching area and competency. We discuss our recent experiences mapping the assets at Tufts University that are relevant to the problem of EIDs with emphasis on zoonotic-disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, and outbreak response. Using 13 teaching areas and 16 competencies relevant to applied epidemiology, we identified and characterized previously untapped resources across the university. Asset mapping is thus a useful tool for identifying university resources and opportunities that can be leveraged to support interdisciplinary education for One Health.

The Combined Master of Public Health program at Tufts University unites medical and veterinary medical students in a four-year curriculum that integrates students' clinical studies with simultaneous studies on population health. Thirty years ago, Tufts University adopted a "One Medicine" approach to teaching health professionals. That perspective has been updated as "One Health" and is now being applied in a university environment that emphasizes interdisciplinary education, a global outlook, and civic engagement.

Background: An investigation of the relationship between incident human cases of Lyme disease and seroprevalence of antibodies to B. burgdorferi in dogs was undertaken in order to determine whether dogs might serve as sentinels for Lyme disease., Methods: 3011 canine serum samples were analyzed by ELISA for antibody to B. burgdorferi. Records of incident human cases of Lyme disease were obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health., Results: Regression analyses of the relationship between the log10 (mean incidence in people 1985-1989) and canine seroprevalence from July 1988-August 1989 revealed that canine seroprevalence was highly predictive of incidence (R2 = 0.86, p less than .0001). A logistic regression model that incorporates the altitude of the town where each dog was resident, the date of sampling, and information on each dog's age, sex, and breed adequately explained the risk of canine seropositivity. Dogs resident at altitudes less than 200 feet, of sporting or large mixed breeds, and greater than two years of age were five times, four times, and almost three times more likely, respectively, to exhibit seropositivity than were other dogs., Conclusions: Estimates of the prevalence of antibody to B. burgdorferi in dog populations offers a sensitive, reliable, and convenient measure of the potential risk to people of B. burgdorferi in the environment. Risk factors for canine seropositivity may directly or indirectly illuminate certain aspects of the epidemiology of human Lyme disease.