A-Z Index
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z ALL
Instagram Facebook Twitter Youtube
Reporting LAHAN Alerts

Coronavirus Disease 2019

Provider and Laboratory Reporting
Guidelines for COVID-19


Summary of Recent Changes

On April 3, 2023, the Los Angeles County Health Officer Order COVID-19 Reporting Requirements went into effect. There are no changes related to provider reporting requirements. This Order continues the requirements for the reporting of COVID-19 test results, hospitalizations, deaths, and clusters.

Background

Disease reporting is an essential part of the public health response to COVID-19. Not only is reporting COVID-19 required by law, reporting helps shape our response as the information is used to detect outbreaks, identify exposures in high risk settings, and inform the allocation of local resources. Timely and complete reporting of fatalities is necessary to characterize and communicate who is at highest risk of dying at home and in the hospital.

Thank you for reporting COVID-19.

Provider Reporting
Summary of Required COVID-19 Reporting
  • Healthcare providers must report COVID-19 associated deaths and all cases that meet the CDC definition of MIS-C.
  • Healthcare providers/clinical facilities conducting point-of-care tests (POCT) must report all positive POCT SARS-CoV-2 results.
  • All acute care hospitals (including general and long-term acute care hospitals) are required to provide a daily line list of their COVID-19 positive inpatients. Note: this daily line list satisfies the required reporting of hospitalizations by healthcare providers]

If the patient’s residence is outside Los Angeles County, please do not send a report to LAC DPH. Please see Other Health Jurisdictions reporting information below.

Note that LAC DPH accepts reports of COVID-19, as well as many other diseases, by secure email (see list of conditions reportable by providers).

COVID-19 Associated Deaths
Icon of the Death Report Form

Healthcare providers are asked to report all fatalities related to COVID-19, including out of hospital deaths of presumed cases.

Providers are required to report deaths in any person:

  1. Who tested positive for COVID-19 within 90 days prior to death; OR
  2. Clinically suspected of having died from COVID-19 (either directly attributable to COVID-19 or a secondary complication of COVID-19) regardless of prior testing results; OR
  3. Who was a resident of a congregate living facility with an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, regardless of testing*

* Suspected cases are not counted towards a facility’s COVID-19 death count until investigated and determined to be a COVID-19 associated death.

COVID-19 associated deaths must be reported by healthcare providers within 24 hours by:

If COVID-19 testing was performed, please attach/send the laboratory result slip along with the death report form.

When completing either the COVID-19 Death Report Web or PDF Form, please make sure to complete all the sections including if the next of kin has been notified of the person's death and COVID status. It becomes the provider’s responsibility to ensure that the next of kin knows that the deceased patient had COVID-19 and that they should advise the patient's close contacts follow LAC DPH’s instructions on home quarantine. Please refer to the LAHAN dated on April 7, Notification of Close Contacts; Importance of COVID-19 Death and Case Reporting.

Note that If COVID-19 played a role in a patient’s death, it is important to report it accurately on the death certificate per CDPH Guidance.

Provider/Clinical Facility Reporting of Point of Care Test Results

Healthcare providers/clinical facilities conducting CLIA-waived testing at the point of care setting are required to report all positive SARS CoV-2 test results.

Providers/clinical facilities should use the secure on-line Provider/Clinical Facility COVID-19 POCT Result Report Form to submit each patient’s POCT results. Reporting positives via this on-line route replaces the requirement for submitting the Medical Provider Report Case Report Form.

How to report POCT results:

For questions regarding POCT reporting email POCReportQA@ph.lacounty.gov.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

Report cases that meet the CDC definition of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) by phone within 1 working day.

  • Los Angeles County DPH Acute Communicable Disease Control: Call 888-397-3993 or 213-240-7821
  • Long Beach Health and Human Services: Call 562-570-4302.
  • Pasadena Public Health Department: Call 626-744-6089. Fax to 310-605-4274

See the LAC DPH MIS-C webpage for more information about MIS-C.

Hospital Inpatient Daily Reporting

All acute care hospitals, including general and long-term acute care hospitals, in Los Angeles County are required to provide a daily line list of COVID-19 positive hospitalized patients. No Emergency Department, Observation, or Outpatients should be included in this daily file.

This daily line list of hospitalized COVID-19 inpatients replaces the requirement of healthcare providers reporting of each inpatient.

See Daily Reporting of Hospitalized COVID-19 Positive Inpatients: Updated Data Submission Requirements and Guide for Acute Care Facilities in LA County for an overview of requirements plus detailed instructions regarding report/file preparation and design, submission, and FAQs.

Laboratory Reporting

Facilities certified under CLIA to perform moderate- or high-complexity testing must report the following within one (1) working day:

  • All SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) results (positive and non-positive).
  • All FDA EUA authorized antibody/serology test results (positive and non-positive).
  • SARS-CoV-2 POSITIVE results from non-NAAT viral testing (e.g., high throughput antigen testing) must be reported. Non-positive results do not need to be reported.

  • In addition, all entities performing SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequencing (WGS) and/or molecular sequencing-based surveillance are required to follow the LA County Health Officer Order: SARS-CoV-2 Data Sharing and Reporting (see below). View Reportable Conditions: Notification by Laboratories to see all laboratory reporting requirements.

    All laboratories that test LAC residents must register with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) for electronic laboratory reporting (ELR), regardless of the physical location of the laboratory. Information about how to establish an electronic connection with CDPH to route positive and negative COVID results to LACDPH can be found at the CDPH Health Information Exchange Gateway.

    Temporary reporting instructions for labs awaiting ELR

    1. Register your laboratory with Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, using this form, which can be emailed to Covid19TestQI@ph.lacounty.gov.
    2. After receiving registration confirmation, laboratories are required to do the following daily:

    For each person tested, laboratories are required to do the following SARS-CoV-2 results daily:

    • Fax each positive NAAT and antigen lab result slips to (310) 605-4274.
    • Email as a single daily batch a report of all non-positive NAAT and antigen results (e.g. negative, indeterminate) and all serology results (positive and non-positive) using a template that will be emailed after a test file is submitted. The following can be used for guidance in utilizing this template:

    Training: Full Video (22 minutes) or download it in 4 parts: Part 1 (Intro), Part 2 (Fields 1-16), Part 3 (Fields 17-32), Part 4 (Conclusion).

    SARS-CoV-2 Whole Genome Sequencing
    The LA County Health Officer issued an order requiring entities that are performing SARS-CoV-2 sequencing and molecular testing on specimens collected from residents of LA County public health jurisdiction to register with LAC DPH, report information about sequenced samples as directed, report findings of public health significance, and submit specimens upon request. For more information see the Whole Genome Sequencing FAQ. View the LA County Health Officer Order: SARS-CoV-2 Data Sharing and Reporting.

    Reporting Outbreaks or Case Clusters

    In LA County, all facilities outlined in the County Health Officer Order are required to report clusters of COVID-19 cases.

    Other Health Jurisdictions

    COVID-19 must be reported to the jurisdiction where the patient resides.

    Long Beach Health and Human Services: see COVID-19 Healthcare Provider website.

    Pasadena Public Health Department: see COVID-19 Healthcare Provider Disease Reporting website.

    Other health jurisdictions not listed here: Please view the Health Care Providers/Labs reporting contact list maintained by the California Public Health Department (CPDH).


    Icon: Get Adobe Reader
    Adobe Reader

    Note: PDF documents on this site were created using Adobe Acrobat 5.0 or later. Document functionality may be reduced if you are using an earlier version (4.x or less). Get the latest version of Adobe Acrobat.



    Public Health has made reasonable efforts to provide accurate translation. However, no computerized translation is perfect and is not intended to replace traditional translation methods. If questions arise concerning the accuracy of the information, please refer to the English edition of the website, which is the official version.

    Los Angeles County Seal: Enriching lives through effective and caring services