What is Electronic Case Reporting?
Electronic Case Reporting (eCR) is the automated, near real-time generation and transmission of case reports from electronic health records (EHRs) to public health agencies (PHAs) for review and action. eCR reduces the burden on healthcare providers to accomplish their reporting requirements to public health and improves the timeliness and completeness of case reports at the local, state, and national levels. Healthcare organizations (HCOs), EHR companies, and PHAs are all essential in implementing eCR.
Healthcare providers are required by law in all US states and territories to report diseases and conditions of interest to public health. Reporting requirements vary by disease/condition and public health jurisdiction. Historically, healthcare providers must identify that their patient has a disease/condition of interest to public health, create a reportable condition case report using time-intensive manual processes (e.g., written reports, fax, or mail), and submit the report to the appropriate PHA. This has led to underreporting and delayed identification of events, such as disease outbreaks, that require public health intervention.
eCR Implementation Requirements ChecklistThese requirements describe the needs and expectations for applications, networks, and vendor products used to provide eCR capabilities for case reporting between healthcare and public health. The checklist includes key requirements for reporting to state and local PHAs, for triggering and timing of electronic initial case reports (eICRs), and for bidirectional communications.
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eCR Now FHIR AppThe eCR Now FHIR App provides eCR capabilities for EHRs that otherwise don’t have the ability to meet eCR requirements. It is open source, free of cost, and can more rapidly enable eCR rollout to HCOs by simplifying the EHR product preparation process. While it is not required, EHR industry partners can choose to integrate the eCR Now FHIR App with their products to provide eCR capabilities and help them fulfill certification requirements for eCR.
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