Introduction to Public Health Case Reporting

Electronic Initial Case Reporting (eICR) is the automated, real-time exchange of case reports from your electronic health record (EHR) system to public health agencies. Instead of relying solely on manual reporting, eICR uses structured data and nationally defined trigger criteria to automatically generate and send case reports whenever a patient encounter meets reporting requirements. We utilize direct secure mail to send out Public Health Case Reports and then practices receive the Response Reports via direct mail. We provide a Case Reporting dashboard to track Public Health Case Report statuses from generation to the response report. 

The first step in getting started with eICR is for your practice or provider organization to contact your state or local Public Health Agency (PHA) and notify them of your intent to participate. Each PHA manages its own on-boarding and approval process, and they will tell you exactly what steps you must take to begin. This outreach is required before any automated reporting can be enabled in your system.

The goal of eICR is to:

  • Improve timeliness of case reporting to public health.

  • Reduce provider burden by automating manual processes.

  • Ensure compliance with CMS Promoting Interoperability (MIPS) measures.

  • Support public health response by supplying accurate, standardized information.

With eICR, your practice can:

  • Automatically generate and send case reports when patient encounters match industry-defined trigger tables.

  • Receive Reportability Responses (RRs) back from public health agencies, indicating whether additional reporting or actions are required.

  • Track all case reporting activity in a dedicated Case Reporting Dashboard or directly in the patient timeline for easy review.

As you explore the related articles in this section, you’ll find guidance on:

  • Contacting your PHA and beginning the on-boarding process.

  • Using the Case Reporting Dashboard.

  • Understanding statuses and responses.

  • Meeting regulatory requirements for MIPS.

      

https://isalus-internal.knowledgeowl.com/help/responding-to-a-client-request-to-begin-ecr