The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR), Bureau for Public Health (BPH) continues to respond to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in West Virginia. The purpose of this advisory is to update healthcare providers on new national requirements for COVID-19 laboratory test data elements. These added reporting requirements will help assure rapid public health response to COVID-19 across West Virginia communities. Comprehensive laboratory testing data, including complete demographic details and other information, is critical to initiate epidemiologic case investigations, assisting with contact tracing, and assessing availability and use of testing resources. In addition, the laboratory testing data, in conjunction with case reports, provide vital guidance for mitigation and control activities.
Healthcare providers play a role in the new reporting requirements under the CARES Act that will provide much needed data on the pandemic’s impact on West Virginia communities. In the new elements to be collected and reported beyond demographic data, there is a set of unique questions that inquire whether a patient is a healthcare worker, has COVID-19 symptoms, is a resident of a congregate care setting, is pregnant or has been hospitalized.
BPH is asking all healthcare providers to continue to:
- Report immediately all positive COVID-19 laboratory results to the local health department (LHD). Healthcare providers should fax case reports to the LHD of the patient’s county of Laboratories not currently reporting electronically must fax positive reports to the LHD of the patient’s county of residence.
- Report suspected cases of Multi-inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) immediately to the LHD of the the patient’s county of
Collaborate with laboratories to collect the required and new additional data elements. For assistance with electronic laboratory reporting, please contact Tim Clendenen at Tim.G.Clendenen@wv.gov or the Division of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at (304) 558-5358 ext. 2