Indiana

Many laboratories, clinics, and providers from Ascension, a large health network in Indiana, practiced inconsistent methods related to

• determining who needed a blood lead level (BLL) test,
• how and where patients were tested,
• and reporting BLL test results to the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH).

In fall 2018, the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) collaborated with Ascension by providing them with data reported from their clinics to allow the health network to see the varying rates of reporting, quality of data, and ability to report electronically. After understanding the challenge, Ascension’s Chief Medical Officer, in conjunction with ISDH, authorized these improvements:

1. Setting up electronic reporting credentials for each site and providing training on electronic reporting for partner clinics.
2. Implementing a plan to purchase point-of-care blood lead testing supplies and equipment over the next two years for every clinic that serves as a primary care provider for children.
3. Providing each clinic with filter paper testing supplies and allowing ISDH’s laboratories to analyze those tests until each clinic has a point-of-care analyzer.

Over a one-year period from 2018–2019, electronic laboratory submissions from providers associated with Ascension increased by 67%. This represents a total of between 28 and 40 employee hours saved over the course of the year (depending on the quality of the initial submission).

Funding for this work was made possible in part by NUE2EH001379 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The views expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.