Reporting Blood Lead Test Results

Blood lead testing and follow-up

To learn more about who should be tested for exposure to lead, visit the Childhood Blood Lead Screening Guidelines for Minnesota or the Blood Lead Screening Guidelines for Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women in Minnesota. For information about follow-up blood lead testing and treatment after an Elevated Blood Lead Level, refer to the Childhood Blood Lead Clinical Treatment Guidelines for Minnesota.

Blood lead test results reporting

Minnesota Statutes, section 144.9502, subd. 3, requires performing facilities to submit all blood lead test results to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. Performing facilities include both laboratories and other facilities that analyze blood lead tests conducted on point-of-care machines.

The Minnesota state lead statute requires that venous blood lead results of at least 15 µg/dL are reported to MDH within two working days and that all other blood lead results are reported within one month. However, an elevated blood lead level is defined in Minnesota as 3.5 µg/dL or greater, and MDH guidelines recommend that public health interventions begin at 3.5 µg/dL. Therefore, to ensure that children, pregnant women, and workers get the timely care they need, MDH requests that blood lead results be submitted within the following timeframe:

• Within two (2) working days for all blood lead results of 3.5 µg/dL or greater.
• Within one month for blood lead results less than 3.5 µg/dL (however, more prompt reporting is valuable for blood lead surveillance).

Minnesota Statutes, section 144.9502, subd. 3 was updated on July 1, 2021. For programs that perform more than 50 blood lead tests per year, MDH will no longer be accepting mailed or faxed results. At a minimum, results may be submitted using a spreadsheet. MDH strongly encourages facilities to submit data using electronic lab reporting with HL7 messages. For more information, visit the Blood Lead Electronic Data Submission page. The MDH Lead Surveillance Database Coordinator may be contacted for information on blood lead test result reporting and electronic reporting methods at Health.bloodleadresults@state.mn.us or (651) 201-4919.

Programs that perform 50 or less blood lead tests per year are encouraged to submit blood lead test results electronically, but may submit results by mail or fax. The MDH Blood Lead Report Form (PDF) may be used to submit results by mail or fax by programs performing < 50 blood lead tests per year, or for temporary reporting for technological issues or while electronic reporting is being configured.

For more information on required timelines and data elements for reporting blood lead data, see the Reporting Requirements for Facilities Performing Blood Lead Analyses (PDF).