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CSTE National ELR Workgroup

Welcome to the CSTE National ELR Workgroup Basecamp! We hope you will utilize the space to share resources with colleagues, start discussion threads, and identify topics for the workgroup to tackle on future calls. All workgroup members will have the opportunity to join. Please note that you may edit your notification preferences to suit your needs (and your email inbox). If you are not already on the ELR distribution list and would like to receive call communications, please enroll using this subscription form (copy and paste in browser): https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/5a91a4579952496682084796b82112e6
Becky Lampkins, Manager, Surveillance/Informatics Program at CSTEMegan Toe, CSTEScott Troppy, Surveillance Epidemiologist at MA DPHMeredith Lichtenstein, CSTEAmy Drake, NMJohn RobertsNancy Barrett, Epi 4/PH Informatics SpecialistErin Holt, TDHRita Altamore, EpidemiologistDavid DiCesareJason HallWalter Kemper, ELR Coordinator, NC DHHS Div of Public HealthJulie LuepkeCarmen Pugh, Labcorp Manager State Reporting at LabCorpTom Safranek +399 others
Other ELR by Millie Malai ·

📈 Are you still getting paper lab results?

If this is not the right "forum" for this question, I apologize! Is anyone still receiving a paper test result? I am looking to understand the extent of the "paper" issue to determine if we should dedicate some resources to looking at ways to help you solve receiving paper. I appreciate if anyone wants to share!

Comments & Events

Ann Kayser Ann Kayser
The short answer is yes - still getting paper. 

I might categorize the reasoning for still needing/getting paper into the following.
1. Interstate reporting - lab results coming to one state, but needing to be forwarded onto another. For states who may have a larger reference lab within their jurisdiction, this can be burdensome when the original ordering entity does not supply the patient's state of residence.
2. Stand alone clinics/facilities with small volume of reportable conditions compared to larger entities and might not have the resources to implement ELR or have strong IT support.
3. Out of state labs testing - potentially due to changes in contracts/cost of testing to an instate facility.
4. Very specialized testing, which must go to very specific laboratories (example: National Hansen's Disease Laboratory).

Ann Kayser
MN Dept of Health
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Jennifer Stewart Jennifer Stewart
I don't know if anyone has achieved a true paperless health department.  We certainly have not.  For ELR we are still hovering around 80% electronic submissions.  The last 20% send paper.  There are many reasons for that, including some smaller rural facilities that have not dedicated the resources to onboarding, some special cases (one hospital system has changed hands 3 times in the last couple of years with a complete replace of their electronic systems each time), and others.  But yes we still receive paper.  
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Sita Smith Sita Smith
Agree with both my colleagues above. In MA we had less than a percent of reports on paper in 2022, but given the number of reports, it still feels like a lot of paper, but I think this is as good as it gets. In addition to the very comprehensive list above, we get paper from blood banks, transplant centers, and yes, very small clinics. Pivoting to using flat file input and web-based data entry forms post-pandemic reduced the quantity of paper from around 4-5% to <1%.
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Danny Power Danny Power
Also agreed with the comments that have come in, we're currently hovering around 98% electronic, either through ELR or flat-file submissions. The other 2% come in through manual entry of paper faxes, usually from very small facilities that don't have the volume or the resources to stand up an electronic solution. Overall it's fairly manageable, at least when we are not in a COVID surge. 
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