Electronic Laboratory Reporting

Electronic Laboratory Reporting (ELR) allows laboratories to report test results for reportable infectious diseases through an automated and secure process.  Laboratories export data from their information systems in a standard file format and send it to the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) electronically through a secure interface.  ELR will replace paper-based reporting for most reportable infectious diseases and has the potential to be used for reporting of other laboratory findings, such as cancer pathology reports and blood lead level results.  ELR allows for more rapid reporting to public health and reduces the reporting burden.  There are four phases to ELR – enrollment, precertification, certification and maintenance – which are described below.

Note that immediate phone notification of positive test results for Class A1 diseases is still required for labs that report test results for reportable infectious diseases through ELR.

How to Get Started?

Review Ohio’s list of reportable infectious diseases and reporting requirements and determine for which reportable diseases your lab does testing (Infectious Disease Control Manual).

• Determine whether your lab uses LOINC (test) and SNOMED (result) codes or local codes. ODH will accept either LOINC and SNOMED or local codes, though the preference is to receive LOINC and SNOMED codes.  ODH provides a LOINC convenience list for use.
• Determine whether your lab can send an electronic file in Health Level 7 (HL7) format, either version 2.3.1 or 2.3.z.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Implementation Guide for Transmission of Laboratory-Based Reporting of Public Health Information using HL7 version 2.3.1 should be followed.
• Review ODH required fields.
• Determine the secure mechanism by which your lab will send an ELR file.  Options include Secure File Transfer Protocol (FTP) via a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection or physically uploading files to ODH.
• For more information, please send an e-mail to ELR@odh.ohio.gov. 

Enrollment

This first phase of ELR consists of information exchange between ODH and the laboratory.  ODH needs to know which infectious diseases the laboratory will be reporting and the expected volume of reports, and will ask for a list of test codes (LOINC or local) that will be reported.  The laboratory and ODH will determine the format of the file to be sent, the frequency of transmission and the method of transmission.

During precertification, the laboratory will create ELR messages using the standard HL7 format and incorporating additional ODH requirements.  The purpose of precertification is to ensure the HL7 file meets both HL7 and ODH standards.  Traditional disease reporting will continue during this phase. 

During certification, the laboratory will transmit real data electronically.  Traditional disease reporting will continue during this phase.  ODH and local health department staff will compare ELR reports with those received via traditional methods, verifying accuracy and completeness of the ELR report.  This will be an iterative process until ELR reports are error-free.  After an agreed-upon length of time of error-free ELR reports, a laboratory will be certified to submit ELR reports in lieu of paper-based reports.  A date will be set for discontinuing traditional disease reporting. 

Maintenance

During maintenance, the laboratory will inform ODH of any changes or updates to their HL7 message, including updates to their LOINC and SNOMED lists. If the change is significant, certification may need to be repeated. ODH will notify the laboratory of any changes to the list of reportable diseases or reporting rules.  Certification will be assessed annually. 

Last updated:  9/11/2008