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LDH Health Alert: Reporting of COVID-19/SARSCoV-2 Results

Date: 11/24/20

Louisiana Department of Health reminds all providers that the results of tests performed to diagnose COVID-19 must be reported within 24 hours.

All facilities performing testing for COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 are required to report all COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 results to the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH). All results (positive, negative, indeterminate, or other) for point-of-care testing, antibody testing, or any other testing performed to diagnose COVID-19 are required to be reported within 24 hours of the result being determined.  

Electronic laboratory reporting (ELR) in HL7 or CSV format is the preferred mechanism for reporting results. If your facility is performing COVID-19 testing on-site and you do not have ELR set up to report your results, please contact ELR@la.gov to obtain access to the Louisiana Lab Submission Online Portal.

The Louisiana Lab Submission Online Portal is a secure online survey where providers can submit all COVID-19 lab reports to LDH. Providers may access the full guide for reporting COVID-19 test results via Louisiana Lab Submission Online Portal here. 

The following list specifies the required information to submit a lab result: 

  • Submitter name (the name of the person filling out the form)
  • Lab Name / Submitting Organization
  • MRN (if available)
  • First and Last Name of Patient
  • SSN (if available)
  • Patient Address
  • Patient Phone Number
  • Patient Date of Birth
  • Patient Sex, Race, and Ethnicity
  • Date of specimen collection
  • Date of result
  • Test Name 
    • Example: SARS Coronavirus 2 RNA (PCR/ Molecular); SARS Coronavirus 2 Ab (Antibody); SARS Coronavirus 2 Ag Rapid (Antigen) 
  • Test Result
  • Facility Name and Address
  • CLIA number
  • Accession number
  • Specimen type (e.g., Nasopharyngeal, Blood, Nasal swab)
  • Differentiate employee testing from resident testing by putting ‘EMP’ after facility name for employees. 

For all questions and register your facility, please contact ELR@la.gov. Once your organization is registered the ELR team will provide the production link that can be used for ongoing results reporting.