Submissions of Reportable Laboratory Results - Frequently Asked Questions

“Meaningful Use” Submissions of Reportable Laboratory Results – Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I find the specifications for the ELR “meaningful use” message? The message is a constrained version of HL7 v 2.5.1. Requirements are specified in the “HL7 Version 2.5.1 Implementation Guide: Electronic Laboratory Reporting to Public Health, Release 1 (US Realm) (electronic version in PDF)”. This is a copyrighted document that is available from HL7. If your organization is not already a member of HL7 you can obtain additional information on membership at http://www.hl7.org/.

Are all health care providers and hospitals asked to submit reportable laboratory results? The meaningful use objective requires that hospitals submit reportable laboratory results. In Virginia hospital laboratories and other laboratories are being encouraged to replace paper-based reporting with electronic laboratory reporting.

Should data transmissions be sent to the VDH central office or to the local health department? You should submit the messages to the VDH central office. Because Virginia’s public health system uses centralized databases with role-based access for appropriate local public health staff, meaningful use data transmissions submitted through the VDH messaging portal make data available to local health department staff.