The Ohio Disease Reporting System (ODRS) provides real-time secured access for state and local public health practitioners to report infectious diseases.  ODRS allows local health departments with jurisdictional responsibility and relevant ODH program staff to have immediate access to infectious disease reports on a 24/7/365 basis for disease control and disease surveillance purposes. This assures cases of significant public health importance receive immediate attention and public health response.   Infection preventionists, individual health care providers and laboratories can also become ODRS users for infectious disease reporting purposes. 

Local Health Departments

ODRS is used by local health departments (LHDs) to report infectious diseases to the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). Class A diseases should also be reported to ODH immediately by phone.

Each LHD has an administrator (and a backup) who sets up access to ODRS for LHD employees in their jurisdiction. ODH sets up users as LHD administrators upon receipt of a fully completed and approved LHD Administrator Agreement.  LHD administrators add and remove ODRS user accounts and assign role and program group rights.  LHD administrators review user rights on a regular basis to ensure appropriate access to ODRS.  ODH recommends LHD administrators have LHD User Agreements on file for all ODRS users for whom they are the LHD administrator.

When ODRS was rolled out in February 2006, ODH conducted a series of train-the-trainer trainings.  Each LHD has a designated trainer within their jurisdiction or region. LHD trainers are responsible for training users in their jurisdiction or region.  An online manual is also available in ODRS Help.

Infection Preventionists, Health Care Facilities, Laboratories

ODRS is now available for use by infection preventionists (IPs), health care facilities and laboratories to report infectious diseases to local public health.  Laboratories can also report infectious diseases to local public health via electronic lab reporting.  Class A diseases should also be reported to local public health immediately by phone.  Additionally, users can access summary reports of disease reports made to local public health via ODRS, which may be useful for Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and other administrative purposes.

IPs, health care facilities and laboratories interested in becoming ODRS users should contact the local health department (LHD) where their facility is located (Local health districts).  Health care facility (HCF) user rights can be managed by an administrator either at the LHD or the HCF. This is determined through mutual agreement of the LHD and HCF.  ODH sets up users as HCF administrators upon receipt of a fully completed and approved HCF Administrator Agreement.  HCF administrators add and remove ODRS user accounts and assign role and program group rights.  HCF administrators review user rights on a regular basis to ensure appropriate access to ODRS.  ODH recommends that HCF administrators have HCF Data Entry Agreements on file for all ODRS users for whom they are the HCF administrator.

ODRS HelpDesk

ODRS users should contact the ODRS HelpDesk at (614) 752-5190 and select option 2 if they experience problems in using ODRS.  The ODRS HelpDesk is staffed 8 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday.