Message Validation, Processing, and Provisioning System

The Message Validation, Processing, and Provisioning System (MVPS) is software that receives National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) data from jurisdictions, validates and processes the data, and provisions the data to CDC programs for their national surveillance efforts. Through the MVPS Portal, jurisdictions have the ability to view the data they have submitted and identify data quality issues.

MVPS Benefits

MVPS addresses a number of data processing and distribution challenges. It allows CDC to receive, process, and provision NNDSS data efficiently and effectively.

MVPS provides several benefits to jurisdictions and CDC programs:

• Reduces the number of systems processing data at CDC and enables streamlined message processing from jurisdictions to CDC.
• Standardizes data processed at CDC.
• Allows CDC programs to receive, process, store, access, share, and analyze health-related data to further the agency’s public health goals.
• Provides jurisdictions the opportunity to view the data they have submitted and identify data quality issues.

On August 14, 2021, the CDC NNDSS team released key data processing functions and enhancements to MVPS.

Public health reporting jurisdictions and participating CDC programs can now look into the data processing “black box” for the first time and review data submitted to CDC. The enhancements:

• Automate processing of all NNDSS data streams in MVPS. In addition to HL7 case notifications, MVPS can be used to track processing of case notifications sent using legacy HL7, NEDSS Base System (NBS) Master Message, and National Electronic Telecommunications System for Surveillance (NETSS) files.
• Allow greater transparency of transactions for the four case notification types, providing easier troubleshooting on data receipt and processing.
• Make MVPS the source for weekly and annual NNDSS publication.
• Provide new user interface functionalities that will make it easier for public health jurisdictions and CDC programs to review messages, errors and warnings, and case counts; delete cases or groups of cases (jurisdiction users); and verify cases for low-incidence conditions before publication.

Learn more about these features and enhancements in the August 10, 2021 NNDSS eSHARE webinar archive.

If you experience any issues with the system or have questions about the new functionalities, please email the CDC Electronic Data Exchange mailbox at edx@cdc.gov with the subject line “MVPS features.”

Using MVPS

Q: What is SAMS?

A: CDC Secure Access Management Services (SAMS)  manages user access to MVPS. Registration is required for access.

Q: What is METS and when should jurisdictions use it?

A: The CDC Message Evaluation and Testing Service (METS)  is a message validation service to assist public health jurisdictions. As jurisdictions implement HL7 case notification messages, they should first use METS to evaluate the test messages they developed and ensure that they adhere to the applicable messaging, vocabulary, and programmatic standards.

Q: How do CDC programs access data from case notifications sent to CDC?

A: MVPS provisions data to individual CDC programs, who determine user access to those data. Some programs choose to access and analyze data through views provided by MVPS.  Others incorporate the data into data warehouses where they can be integrated with other complementary data.

Q: What is data provisioning?

A: Data provisioning refers to the processes by which surveillance data received through NNDSS are made available to the disease-specific programs at CDC. It ensures that the necessary data relationships and data format are preserved to allow accurate and complete use of the data. It also defines the database structures (such as tables and views) that will be used to store the data and make them available to programs for analysis and reporting.

Q: What is the MVPS Portal?

A: The MVPS Portal is a component of MVPS that displays data sent by jurisdictions, including the details of messages received and processed by CDC, as well as warnings and errors on messages that do not pass the structural, content, and business rules validation. Jurisdictions and programs use the portal to verify the number of messages received by CDC and to assist with the reconciliation of data throughout the year. In 2021, MVPS also will provide information on which cases were included in the published weekly and yearly tables, allowing jurisdictions to reproduce counts and track case counts included in the published tables.

Q: Who performs MVPS user acceptance testing (UAT) and when does it take place?

A: CDC asks the jurisdictions piloting an MMG to assist with testing the MVPS implementation of that MMG. CDC programs and the NNDSS team also participate. UAT includes testing the functionality of enhancements to MVPS and end-to-end testing of message processing and provisioning.

Retirement of the Legacy NNDSS Portfolio

Q: What is the strategy for transitioning from legacy data streams to MVPS?

A: As MMGs are finalized, jurisdictions are encouraged to implement MMG-based case notification messages in their surveillance systems and work with CDC for onboarding.

Q: Can certain disease-specific reporting still use the National Electronic Telecommunications System for Surveillance (NETSS) format?

A: NETSS will be used until all the notifiable conditions have been transitioned to HL7 message mapping guides and then NETSS will be retired. Because it is out-of-date and inefficient, NETSS retirement is an NNDSS priority. Although there is not a defined timetable, all conditions and jurisdictions will be required to transition to the new HL7 case notifications.

Also See:

Guidance for using SAMS to load NETSS files

Q: Does CDC have a final cut-off date when it will no longer accept NETSS files?

A: NETSS retirement is an NNDSS priority, but a defined timetable has not been established. CDC expects to stop accepting NETSS messages for conditions as HL7-based case notifications are implemented, and states should expect to complete the transition to new HL7 MMGs within 12–18 months after a final MMG is published. The Health Information Systems component of the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) Cooperative Agreement (CoAg) requires demonstrated progress toward the implementation of HL7-based case notifications.

Q: Does MVPS supersede NNDSS?

A: No, MVPS does not supersede NNDSS. NNDSS is a multifaceted program that includes the surveillance system for collection, analysis, and sharing of health data. It also includes policies, laws, electronic messaging standards, people, partners, information systems, processes, and resources at the local, state, territorial, and national levels. MVPS is a data exchange system and is one component of NNDSS.

Q: Does MVPS replace the CDC Data and Message Brokering (DMB) system and the Common Data Store (CDS)?

A: Yes, the DMB and CDS systems have been replaced by MVPS and retired.