Reporting Work-related Asthma Cases

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• Introduction.
• Case definition.
• Submitting case reports.
• Workers' compensation claims.
• Privacy and confidentiality.
• Reporting form help.

Introduction

Under Washington State's Reportable Conditions Rule (www.doh.wa.gov) (WAC 246‑101), all health care providers and health care facilities are required to report cases of work-related asthma. As part of a cooperative agreement with the Washington State Department of Health (www.doh.wa.gov), the case reports are to be sent directly to the Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (SHARP) Program at the Department of Labor and Industries.

More information about the surveillance systems operated by SHARP is available from our Occupational Health Surveillance Library.

Case definition

All health care providers and health care facilities must report any diagnosed or suspected case of asthma caused or exacerbated by workplace sensitizers or irritants in a worker employed in Washington State.

Submitting case reports

Case reports must be received by SHARP within 1 month of diagnosis.

How to submit a case report

Mail or fax a completed reporting form (please see the instructions below for help with obtaining and submitting a form):
Reportable Conditions
SHARP Program
PO Box 44330
Olympia WA 98504‑4330
Fax: 360‑902‑5672

Workers' compensation claims

Filing workers’ compensation claims for work-related asthma does not relieve the diagnosing physician of the reporting requirements under the Reportable Conditions Rule, unless the word ‘asthma’ appears on the Report of Accident form. Reporting a case of work related asthma to SHARP under the Reportable Conditions Rule does not relieve the diagnosing physician of the responsibility to inform his or her patient of the right to file a workers’ compensation claim.

Privacy and confidentiality

All information obtained from case reports will be used for public health surveillance and prevention purposes only. Specific personal identifiers obtained by SHARP for surveillance purposes will not be shared with any other group within L&I for claims initiation/management or any other purpose without written permission by the case.

Reporting form help

There are three ways to obtain a reporting form

• Request a hard copy by calling 888-66-SHARP; or
• Print out the Confidential Report of Work-Related Asthma (MS Word) (5 KB Doc), or
• Print out the Confidential Report of Work-Related Asthma (Adobe PDF) (14 KB PDF).

After printing, please complete the forms and send them to Reportable Conditions, SHARP program. Contact SHARP for more information.

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