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Electronic Lab Reporting

Electronic Lab Reporting for Communicable Diseases

Electronic Laboratory Reporting (ELR) is the automated reporting of communicable diseases to the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH), in accordance with Indiana Reportable Diseases and Conditions. The benefits of ELR are significant for both healthcare providers and public health authorities as it improves timeliness of reports and reduction of manual errors.

By leveraging ELR, healthcare providers and public health authorities can take appropriate actions to limit the spread of diseases and manage impacts effectively.  Expansion of ELR improves public health surveillance capabilities.

ELR Submission Method

Electronic submission is the secure and automatic transmission of laboratory results from participating facilities to IDOH, for communicable disease investigation. To ensure the onboarding process runs efficiently, the facilities should engage in the following preliminary preparation:

  • Establish credentials through Access Indiana. Register for Promoting Interoperability (PI).
  • Prepare a list which includes your organization's NPI, CLIA, and location information.

A few systems (e.g., CHIRP, Lead) may use Direct Data Entry.

ELR Onboarding Process

The ELR Onboarding guide (HL7 Checklist) contains information on all required data elements, formatting of HL7 messages, resources, and best practices for successful onboarding and submission to IDOH. This guide serves as a companion to the HL7 Version 2.5.1 Implementation Guide provided by HL7.org.

  • IDOH Intake
  • Connectivity
    • Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)
  • Testing in IDOH Test Environment
    • Generate a single test message into IDOH test environment to check connectivity and message structure.
    • When all test messages have fewer than 10 errors​, send messages for the LOINC code selected for testing.
  • Validation
    • Validations are conducted in the IDOH system known as National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NBS).
    • When IDOH validation is complete, you will receive approval to start sending ELR messages to production.  
      • Types of Validations 
        • Structural Validation
          • ​Review the structure of ELR messages to ensure HL7 standards are met.
        • Data Quality Validation
          • Assess the data accuracy, completeness, timeliness, and jurisdictional routing.
        • Other Validation
          • Assess and resolve issues identified by IDOH during the validation process.
  • Production Approval
    • Receive approval confirmation email from IDOH.
    • IDOH will place Participant into NBS production environment.
    • Participant will discontinue previous methods reporting of Indiana reportable conditions.​

Resources