All about Electronic Case Reporting (eCR) 

What is eCR?  

Electronic case reporting (eCR) is the automated identification of reportable health events in electronic health records and their transmission to state and local public health authorities for disease investigation and public health response.  

eCR makes disease reporting from healthcare to public health faster and easier. eCR captures critical patient and clinical data regarding demographics, comorbities, immunizations, medications, and other treatments, but greatly reduces the burden of manual reporting. Data is reported leveraging the national eCR standards. 

Why participate in eCR? 

eCR supports healthcare providers to filfill their mandated reporting requirements to the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) and local health departments, and reliably report cases from their EHR faster and with more complete data than with traditional, manual reporting. 

eCR also allows eligible professionals and hospitals to satisfy the Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) regulatory requirements of the Public Health and Clinical Data Exchange objective for the Promoting Interoperability Program and the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). 

eCR benefits for healthcare providers: 

  • eCR reduces burden on healthcare professionals, staff, and facilities without disrupting the clinical workflow 
  • Fulfills legal reporting requirements 
  • Connects in real-time with your public health agency 
  • Offers credit for the CMS Promoting Interoperability Program for implementing eCR 
  • Supports outbreak readiness and most reportable conditions 

eCR benefits for public health agencies: 

  • eCR provides more complete data from the electronic initial case report for a better public health response 
  • Reduces response time with automated information during outbreaks and public health emergencies 
  • Improves communication and collaboration with healthcare providers 
  • Shares critical information with healthcare providers 
  • Monitors the spread of reportable conditions like COVID-19 

Get involved with eCR today. 

eCR benefits healthcare providers and public health agencies alike. If you are ready to learn more about electronic case reporting, download NJII’s eCR guidebook here, or contact our team for more information and to get started.