Currently, most clinicians have only limited access to data regarding the 'context' in which a patient presents. Under such circumstances, physicians are often unaware of local epidemiological information that could help them make optimal treatment decisions. In centers with advanced use of electronic health records (EHRs), it is increasingly possible to perform syndromic surveillance that is local (e.g. specific to a neighborhood or school district), current (e.g. updated daily), and specific to a patient's characteristics (e.g. age, chief complaint).