Preparedness: How Detor is Laying the Foundation

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed a critical vulnerability in our nation's health infrastructure. While public health laboratories performed at peak capacity, manual data entry became a primary bottleneck to timely intervention. Detor was developed to ensure this never happens again. With its first clinical testing launch in New Hampshire, Detor has built the foundation that will ensure that this nation is never again slowed down by paper in a time of crisis.

One of the defining lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic was that our mechanisms for sharing critical public health data were insufficient. The nation relied on data like positivity rates and testing volumes to inform policy, assess risks, identify hotspots, and try to mitigate spread. However, public health laboratories did not have a mature electronic messaging framework in place to communicate seamlessly with clinical care partners.

At the height of the pandemic, laboratories operated around the clock to perform testing, but they struggled to keep up. The primary bottleneck wasn't the testing itself, but the manual data entry required for every order and result. In some states, the burden was so great that the National Guard was called in just to assist with administrative data entry.

The Birth of Detor

Detor was born from this urgent need. Developed as a robust, scalable solution, Detor ensures the nation’s data exchange infrastructure can handle large volumes of information quickly and seamlessly. By creating a standardized bridge between public health and healthcare, Detor eliminates the need to "reinvent the wheel" with every new emerging threat.

A First in New Hampshire

In December of 2025, the New Hampshire Public Health Laboratory and Nashua Division of Public Health & Community Services became the first in the nation to use Detor for clinical testing, specifically sexually transmitted infections (STI) and tuberculosis (TB). The impact was immediate.

“Implementing Detor has transformed how we send, receive, and manage laboratory results. Direct connectivity with the New Hampshire Public Health Laboratory has virtually eliminated the need for manual data entry which significantly improved efficiency, enhanced data quality, and ensured secure delivery of results directly into patient charts,” Flavia Martin, Deputy Chief Public Health Nurse for the City of Nashua Division of Public Health & Community Services.

Through this partnership, New Hampshire is modernizing its laboratory data exchange. This allows public health professionals and healthcare providers to receive results faster, improve data accuracy, and respond more quickly to cases requiring follow-up, treatment, or contact tracing. Ultimately, this collaboration strengthens disease monitoring and ensures residents receive the timely care they need.

Laying the Foundation Nationwide

The New Hampshire implementation of Detor lays the foundation for the entire country. Because Detor is a centralized, shared solution, any laboratory or hospital that uses Detor for these tests in the future will benefit from the work done in New Hampshire.

By leveraging this existing process, public health laboratories and their healthcare partners across the U.S. can move away from manual, onerous methods. If and when the next public health crisis arrives, those connected to Detor will already be in a position to share life-saving data instantly—ensuring that in a time of crisis, the science is never slowed down by the paperwork.