Submitting Electronic Laboratory Results Information to DSHS

What is Electronic Laboratory Reporting (ELR)?

Electronic Laboratory Reporting (ELR) is the electronic transmission of results from laboratories that conduct tests for specific high-profile and/or contagious diseases to public health authorities so that appropriate actions can take place to limit the spread and manage impacts of the disease.  ELR has many benefits, including improved timeliness of results, reduction of manual data entry errors, and reports that are more complete.

About Disease Surveillance

Detecting and monitoring the occurrence of disease through reporting of test results for notifiable conditions is a cornerstone of public health surveillance in Texas. The National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS) Electronic Laboratory Reporting (ELR) system at the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) provides a method for hospital and clinical laboratories to electronically submit test results to fulfill their statutory obligation to report test results to the public health authority.

Submitting ELR Data to Meet Public Health Reporting Requirements under Meaningful Use Programs

While all hospitals and clinical laboratories may participate in ELR, Eligible Hospitals (EHs) or Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) participating in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs may use their successful participation in ELR reporting using Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT) to help meet EHR Incentive Programs’ requirements for reporting data to public health.

In order to meet the EHR Incentive Programs’ requirements for ELR reporting, participating EHs and CAHs must be actively engaged with public health and use CEHRT that is capable of sending ELR messages consistent with identified specifications.  Participants in Stage 2 must be compliant with the specifications in the HL7 Version 2.5.1 Implementation Guide: Electronic Laboratory Reporting to Public Health, Release 1.

Active Engagement

There are three ways an EHR Incentive Program participant can be “actively engaged” in ELR reporting:

  1. Active Engagement Option 1 – Completed Registration to Submit Data. An EH or CAH has registered to submit data with DSHS; registration was completed within 60 days after the start of the EHR reporting period; and the EH or CAH is awaiting an invitation from DSHS to begin testing and validation. Participants in the queue waiting for an invitation are considered to be “actively engaged.” Participants that have registered in previous years do not need to submit an additional registration to meet this requirement for each EHR reporting period.
  2. Active Engagement Option 2 – Testing and Validation: The EH or CAH is in the process of testing and validation of the electronic submission of data. Providers must respond to requests from DSHS within 30 days; failure to respond twice within an EHR Incentive Program reporting period would result in that provider not meeting the measure.
  3. Active Engagement Option 3 – Production: The EH or CAH has completed testing and validation of the electronic submission and is electronically submitting production data to DSHS. Production data refers to data generated through clinical processes involving patient care, and it is used to distinguish between data and “test data” which may be submitted for the purposes of enrolling in and testing electronic data transfers.

The Texas ELR Onboarding Manual  describes the ELR onboarding process and the DSHS requirements in detail.

Other Resources

Additional Questions

Contact IDI@dshs.texas.gov for questions and more information.

For information on the new DSHS electronic case reporting (eCR) initiative, visit the Electronic Case Reporting (eCR) page.

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Electronic Lab Result Submission in Texas