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The Florida Department of Health works to protect, promote, and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county, and community efforts.

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Electronic Case Reporting (eCR)

Be a star!  Sign up for eCR.

Florida eCR participants are building a public health information superhighway.

A special thanks to the trailblazers below:

eCR Early Adopters

  • Memorial Health System
  • Leon Medical Centers
  • Premise Health
  • Lee Memorial Health System
  • Watson Clinic LLP
  • Johns Hopkins Medicine
  • Mayo Clinic

Welcome to the Florida Department of Health eCR page!

The Florida Department of Health declares they are ready to receive electronic case reports from eligible health care organizations.

 

Participate in eCR
Flordia ECR Information: As of April 2022, more than 11,400 facilities are actively sending COVID-19 via eCR to PHAs


Effective January 1, 2022, eCR is required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Promoting Interoperability Program (PIP) for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) and the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Promoting Interoperability Performance Category for eligible clinicians.

PLEASE NOTE: The upcoming deadline for eligible hospitals, critical access hospitals (CAHs), and clinicians to begin the reporting/performance period to meet the CY2025 requirement for CMS PIP and QPP MIPS for eCR is July 5th, 2025. It must be a continuous, self-selected, 180-day period ending by December 31, 2025.

Please read on to learn about eCR, its benefits, where to register your intent, and additional resources.

About eCR

Electronic case reporting (eCR) is the automated real-time exchange of case report information between electronic health records (EHRs) and public health agencies.

Traditionally, health care providers need to know the rules for reporting and manually report about cases, or people with conditions of public health concern, to their public health agencies via fax, phone call, or email.

The Florida Department of Health uses the HL7 CDA electronic initial case report (eICR) standards R3.1 or FHIR eCR 2.1 for electronic case reporting and to support the CMS Promoting Interoperability regulation and the HTI-1 Final Rule for eCR. It is these standards that we will use to eventually eliminate manual reporting requirements. For health care facilities and electronic health record products currently utilizing CDA R1.1, transition is required by August 2025. For transitioning, see step 5 under the “Participate in eCR” section below.

Benefits of eCR

  • Fulfills legal requirements: eCR allows providers to fulfill their legal obligations to report conditions of public health concern with less administrative burden.

  • Qualifies as a PIP objective: eCR qualifies as an objective for eligible facilities participating in the Promoting Interoperability Program (PIP), formerly called Meaningful Use.

  • Enhances surveillance: eCR enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of disease detection, surveillance, investigation, and response.

  • Increases automation: eCR increases automation, which allows stakeholders to spend more time providing care and preventing and controlling disease among the residents of Florida, especially those who are most vulnerable.
 

Participate in eCR

Step 1: Prepare

  • Verify your electronic health record (EHR) is on the Certified Health IT Products ListEligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) attesting to the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program will be required to only use certified health IT that has been updated consistent with the 2015 Edition Cures Update criteria to successfully meet the CEHRT requirements.

  • Visit the AIMS Platform website for a guide. 
    *Note: If your vendor is not yet eCR ready, please still communicate intent below with FLDOH. However, know that the vendor must be ready for the onboarding process to be completed.

  • The Florida Department of Health does not offer an exclusion letter for eCR related to the CMS PIP and the CMS MIPS programs. If you are an eligible hospital, CAH, or MIPS eligible clinician, you are excluded from the eCR measure if you do not treat or diagnose any reportable disease for which data is collected per 64D-3, Florida Administrative Code, during the EHR reporting and performance period.

Step 2: Contact


Step 3: Implement


Step 4: Testing and Validation Phases

  • Enter a testing and validation status where your eCR data undergoes basic testing and validation by AIMS and further testing and validation by DOH

  • DOH has prepared this supplemental guidance document to be used as a companion to the Implementation Guide at time of onboarding for eCR. View eCR Supplental Guidance (This file provided in an Excel format upon request).

  • IMPORTANT: You must continue your existing reporting method for reportable conditions until you receive official notification from DOH authorizing you to discontinue manual reporting.


Step 5: Keep your system up to date with reporting requirements and software.

  • Update your EHR software regularly. New trigger code sets are released twice annually under the Electronic Reporting and Surveillance Distribution (eRSD) 

  • Ensure your EHR software has the most up to date eCR patches. Contact your EHR software support if you have questions.
     
  • Ensure your EHR product have the capability to submit Health Level 7 (HL7) electronic initial case report (eICR) standards R3.1 for electronic case reporting and to support the new HTI-1 Final Rule for eCR. R3.1 is a required transition by end of Q3 (August) 2025. Please work with your EHR vendor and APHL to validate the R3.1 change.

Learn more about eCR

Questions

Should you have any questions, we are happy to support you. Please email us at ElectronicCaseReporting@FLHealth.gov