BACKGROUND: The District of Columbia Department of Health (DCDOH) receives over 2,000 reportable disease case reports each year. The majority are received as paper forms by fax, which creates a substantial challenge in terms of data entry and record storage. We began to explore the use of an electronic case reporting system in early 2014. The Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) system developed by Vanderbilt University was selected because of its security, flexibility, expandability, and ease of use. We will detail important considerations and best practices learned during our implementation and early use of the system.
METHODS: Requirements gathering for the system began in early 2016. Legal agreements for using REDCap were completed late March 2016. After system installation in April, a team of three epidemiologists began notifiable disease form development and implementation in May. User testing was conducted among healthcare providers and school nurses.
RESULTS: The notifiable disease form was developed within 5 months of system installation and went into production September 19, 2016. It was well received by both health care providers and users within the department. Many important considerations had to be taken into account during the implementation process. The biggest consideration was obtaining the approvals for the legal agreements required to join the REDCap consortium. This requirement also determines if the system/data can be hosted by the local jurisdiction or must be hosted by Vanderbilt University. Another consideration was whether to provide users login credentials or a direct link to the case report form that did not require credentials. The former option allows for better record keeping, while the latter option offers greater ease of use. One final point considered was the change management process needed to make revisions to the form once in production. A well thought out plan to address changes was necessary to minimize the risk of data loss or corruption yet still allow for modifications to be implemented in a timely manner.
CONCLUSIONS:  The REDCap system provided DCDOH with a flexible platform for electronic case reporting. However, this flexibility required consideration of additional factors unique to this system. DCDOH will continue to develop REDCap to advance the case reporting process, including integrating the system with the department’s NEDSS Base System (NBS) to facilitate reporting to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.