Qualified entities can join the repository if they can declare their readiness to receive public health reporting by Oct. 31. The database will be finished by early 2017, officials say.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is launching a central data repository for public health agency and clinical data registry reporting.

The database, set to be completed by 2017, will help practices and hospitals meet meaningful use requirements for public health reporting, pointing them toward agencies and registries able to accept electronic public health data.

To join the repository, those organizations must report on their readiness to receive electronic data by October 31. Further, qualified entities need to identify the public health measures the organization reports, such as immunization registry, specialized registry reporting, electronic case reporting and syndromic surveillance reporting.

Registries can use the CMS input form to join the repository, which also declares its readiness to receive public health reporting, according to officials.