Lipskiy N

The HL7 messaging standard, version two that was implemented by most vendors and public health agencies did not resolve all systems’ interoperability problems. Design and tool implementation for automated machine-testing messages may resolve many of those problems. This task also has critical importance for rapid deployment of electronic public health systems.

Objective

This document describes the Public Health Information Network (PHIN) efforts on the development of the MQF, a flexible framework of services and utilities designed to assist public health partners with preparing and communicating quality, standard electronic messages.

Standard vocabulary facilitates the routing and filtering of laboratory data to various public health programs. In 2008, Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) developed 67 Technical Implementation Guides (TIGs) that accompany each condition and contain standard codes for NNC reporting. Those TIGs were reviewed by a public health subject matter expert panel (SMEP), in May 2010, consisting of members of the CDC CSTE Laboratory and PHIN Vocabulary and Messaging Communities of Practice Program, and representatives from the Regenstrief Institute and the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organization.

Objective

Electronic laboratory reporting (ELR) has a key role in public health case reporting and case notification. This paper will discuss the current status, problems, and solutions in a vocabulary support of nationally notifiable conditions (NNC) reporting.