Electronic Case Reporting

Electronic Case Reporting (eCR) is the automated generation and transmission of case reports from an electronic health record (EHR) to the public health agency’s disease surveillance system for review and action. eCR will allow healthcare providers the opportunity to report suspected cases to Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) for further investigation using an electronic health record (EHR) system rather than manually reporting on paper and waiting on lab test results to confirm a suspected case. The eCR will capture critical clinical and demographic patient data from Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT) not otherwise included in laboratory reports. Utilizing eCR will reduce the burdensome paper-based and labor-intensive administrative process reporters face in reporting and responding to public health’s requests for additional information. Eligible professionals (EPs), eligible hospitals (EHs) and critical access hospitals (CAHs) who treat or diagnose any reportable diseases for which data are collected by Alabama's reportable disease system(s) during the provider’s electronic health record (EHR) reporting period may choose to attest for electronic case reporting (eCR).

The state Alabama uses the HL7 electronic initial case report (eICR) standards (R1.1 and R3) for electronic case reporting (eCR) and to support the new CMS Promoting Interoperability regulations for eCR. It is these standards that we will use to eventually eliminate manual reporting requirements. We also require the use of APHL AIMS and the Reportable Condition Knowledge Management System (RCKMS) to ensure appropriate reporting.

Note that clinicians are still required to immediately report by telephone 4-hour and 24-hour reportable diseases upon presumptive diagnosis and not wait for a positive test result, even though the report may be transmitted via eCR.

Getting Started

Eligible professionals and hospitals interested in exchanging eCR data with ADPH may register at the ADPH Security Portal / Meaningful Use Web application after obtaining federal certification for their eCR module.