Rhode Island tracking swine flu through electronic records

Rhode Island health officials are tracking the spread of swine flu through electronic prescription records, developing what they believe is a model that could help doctors more easily identify an outbreak of the illness. Rhode Island is believed to be the first state to use electronic pharmacy prescription data to track swine flu among its entire population, said Rob Cronin, a spokesman for Surescripts, which operates the country's largest electronic prescriptions network. Company representatives say it the state is also believed to be the first to have all of its pharmacies set up to receive electronic prescriptions from doctors.