Onboarding for Reporting Facilities and Providers

There are several steps to onboarding for Electronic Case Reporting to take with the NMDOH and CDC.

Step 1: Prepare for eCR adoption

• Check the status of your EHR Vendor - The list of products ready for general healthcare organization onboarding can be found here: EHR Implementers Checklist (APHL).
• If your HCO uses one of the EHR/Health IT products listed on the website, email your vendor to learn more about getting started with eCR.
• Email ecr@cdc.gov, and copy eCR.Requests@doh.nm.gov and eCR.Onboarding@doh.nm.gov, providing the following information:
  • Organization name and CLIA
  • EHR vendor
  • Primary contact information (phone number and email address)
  • Organization's primary address
• HCO should reach out to their EHR vendor to discuss options for implementing eCR and to learn more about their system's ability to generate the eCR and receive and process a Reportability Response. Work with your EHR/Health IT vendor to enable eCR functionality and conduct testing.
• Get final approval from your organization's leaders to implement eCR.

Step 2: Implement eCR

• When directed by your assigned eCR onboarding coordinator, follow the process here to begin implementation: eCR for Healthcare Providers.
• Work with your EHR/Health IT vendor to enable eCR functionality and conduct testing. After data is collected and sending sufficient data and data quality, and after the NMDOH approves the results of testing, a go-live date is set to begin sending data to the NMDOH.
• Make sure that your policy path is in place for reporting to PHAs without violating HIPAA or any applicable state laws.
• Complete the eCR Provider Intake Form when directed to do so by your eCR onboarding coordinator.

Step 3: Go live

• Work with your eCR onboarding coordinator, EHR/Health IT vendor, and PHA to ensure testing and data quality meet public health requirements.
• Send production messages.
• Maintain current manual case reporting processes alongside eCR until notified otherwise by the relevant PHAs for your organization.

Step 4: PHA validation

• Collaborate with your PHA(s) for production data validation and quality review.
• Discontinue manual reporting once your PHA(s) confirm you can do so based on data quality standards and rate of eCRs matching manual reporting, or better.

We highly recommend that your EHR turn on for all conditions as New Mexico has published all reportable conditions as of July 1, 2024.

NMDOH laboratories and hospitals must receive data that follows the HL7 CDA® R2 Implementation Guide:

Public Health Case Report, Release 2 STU Release 3.1 = US Realm, available at HL7 CDA® R2 Implementation Guide.

LOINC Codes and Values

• The facility must use current LOINC values when submitting resulted test codes. Current LOINCs available at LOINC.

Exclusions for Electronic Case Reporting

If a Health Care Organization (e.g., Hospital, Facility, Clinic, or Provider) does not test for or is not legally required to report Nationally or State notifiable diseases or conditions to the NMDOH, then your facility may request an exclusion for eCR.

CMS is responsible for issuing exclusions rather than the PHAs.For additional information on exclusions, it is recommended that providers reach out to CMS directly using the below contact information.

• For MIPS: Eligible clinicians may contact the Quality Payment Program helpdesk for assistance at qpp@cms.hhs.gov or 1-866-288-8292
• For PIP: Medicare-eligible hospitals may contact the QualityNet helpdesk for assistance at qnetsupport@hcqis.org or 1-866-288-8912

Please reach out to the appropriate contacts listed to obtain an exclusion letter for your records.