Section 27.4. Reporting cases

(a) Except for reporting by a clinical laboratory, a case is to be reported to the LMRO serving the area in which a case is diagnosed or identified unless another provision of this chapter directs that a particular type of case is to be reported elsewhere. A clinical laboratory shall make reports to the appropriate office of the Department.

(b) Upon the Department’s implementation of its electronic disease surveillance system for certain types of case reports, persons who make those reports shall do so electronically using an application and reporting format provided by the Department. At least 6 months in advance of requiring a type of case report to be reported electronically, the Department will publish a notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin announcing when electronic reporting is to begin.

(c) This section does not prohibit a reporter from making an initial report of a case to the Department or an LMRO by telephone. The reporter will be instructed on how to make a complete case report at the time of the telephone call.

(d) Department offices to which this chapter requires specified case reports to be filed are as follows:

(1) Cancer Registry, Division of Health Statistics, Bureau of Health Statistics and Research.

(2) Division of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Bureau of Epidemiology.

(3) HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Section, Division of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Bureau of Epidemiology.

(4) Division of Newborn Disease Prevention and Identification, Bureau of Family Health.

(e) A case shall be reported using the appropriate case report format. Information solicited by the case report form shall be provided by the reporter, irrespective of whether the report is made by submitting the form directly in hard copy or by telecommunication or electronic submission. An appropriate case report form or format may be procured from the office to which the type of case is reportable.

The provisions of this § 27.4 amended October 24, 1980, effective October 25, 1980, 10 Pa.B. 4212; amended August 19, 1988, effective August 20, 1988, 18 Pa.B. 3697; amended January 25, 2002, effective January 26, 2002, 32 Pa.B. 491; amended May 17, 2002, effective May 18, 2002, 32 Pa.B. 2435. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (287130) to (287131).

Notation

Authority

The provisions of this § 27.4 issued under sections 2101—2111 of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § § 531—561); amended under section 16 of the Disease Prevention and Control Law of 1955 (35 P. S. § 521.16); sections 3 and 5 of the Newborn Child Testing Act (35 P. S. § § 623 and 625); section 16(a) of the Disease Prevention and Control Law of 1955 (35 P. S. § 521.16(a)); and sections 2102(g) and 2111(b) of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § § 532(g) and 541(b)).

Cross References

This section cited in 28 Pa. Code § 5.52 (relating to contents of records); 28 Pa. Code § 27.3 (relating to reporting outbreaks and unusual diseases, infections and conditions); 28 Pa. Code § 27.21a (relating to reporting of cases by health care practitioners and health care facilities); 28 Pa. Code § 27.24a (relating to reporting of cases by veterinarians); 28 Pa. Code § 27.30 (relating to reporting cases of certain diseases in the newborn child); and 28 Pa. Code § 27.35 (relating to reporting cases of disease in animals).