Evaluation of vocabularies for electronic laboratory reporting to public health agencies

Clinical laboratories and clinicians transmit certain laboratory test resul ts to public health agencies as required by state or local law. Most of the se surveillance data are currently received by conventional mail or facsimi le transmission. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Coun cil of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, and Association of Public Hea lth Laboratories are preparing to implement surveillance systems that will use existing laboratory information systems to transmit electronic laborato ry results to appropriate public health agencies. The authors anticipate th at this will improve the reporting efficiency for these laboratories, reduc e manual data entry, and greatly increase the timeliness and utility of the data. The vocabulary and messaging standards used should encourage partici pation in these new electronic reporting systems by minimizing the cost and inconvenience to laboratories while providing for accurate and complete co mmunication of needed data. This article describes public health data requi rements and the influence of vocabulary and messaging standards on implemen tation.