Background:
Timely reporting of STD morbidity improves programmatic response and efficient use of critical resources. For the past six years, the Division of Disease Prevention has tracked STD-related mailings from local health departments. In October 2002, the Division began providing monetary assistance to aid reporting timeliness of STD-related paperwork. To our best knowledge, there are no published reports evaluating STD reporting in this manner.

Objective:
To determine whether mailing cost reimbursements have an effect on reporting timeliness.

Method:
Reimbursement eligibility was based on 31 health districts and provided between October 2002 and December 2004. Differences in reporting timeliness resulting from this financial incentive were analyzed using baseline data obtained between 1999 – 2002. The outcome variable was based on total mailings received per district per month and used to identify trends. Data was modeled as a generalized linear model for repeated measures using SAS PROC GENMOD.

Result:
A total of 7,950 mailings were received between October 2002 and October 2005. The average mailings received per month at the district level was 6.93 (median=6, standard deviation=4.95); reflecting an increase of 2 in median number of monthly mailings from 2002 to 2005. Total monthly mailings statewide increased significantly over time (p<0.001), after controlling for numbers of reported cases. Seven districts showed a significant increase (p<0.001) in mailings received; two districts showed a significant decrease. Remaining districts showed statistically insignificant variations.

Conclusion:
Overall, providing mailing cost reimbursements improved reporting timeliness. Timeliness tracking will continue for the foreseeable future to assess post-cost reimbursement ramifications.

Implications:
Financial reimbursement for mailing costs may be an effective tool for addressing delays in reporting timeliness and may encourage localities to improve reporting habits. More well-defined cost-benefit analyses should be conducted to determine long-term benefits and implications.