2015-2017 Newborn screening for critical congenital heart disease
The report on Newborn Screening for Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD) (PDF) in Washington State offers a summary of birthing hospitals or health care providers attending births that screened newborns for CCHD before discharge.
2017 Newborn Screening Program Annual Report
This report is presented in accordance with Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 70.83.080 and Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 246-650-040, which require the Department of Health to produce an annual newborn screening report for the State Board of Health and the general public.
The 2017 Newborn Screening Program Annual Report (PDF) summarizes data for the period January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017.
- 87,234 infants born in Washington during 2017
- 203 infants identified with one of the 28 disorders on the screening panel
- 1,410 infants identified with a hemoglobin trait
Compliance: Specimen Collection and Transit Performance
Timely collection and submittal of newborn screening specimens is critical for early detection of the disorders and effective clinical intervention for the infant. Required timeframes for specimen collection and transit have been established to safeguard infant's health.
Each infant's first newborn screening specimen is required by state law to be collected no later than 48 hours following birth.
- 98.3% of initial specimens were collected in compliance with this timeframe. This is an improvement of 0.1 percentage points from the previous year.
Each infant's first newborn screening specimen is required to be received by the State Public Health Laboratories within 72 hours of collection.
- 89.7% of initial specimens were received within this timeframe. This is an improvement of 0.5 percentage points from the previous year.
Parent Notification: Timeliness of Notification by Health Care Providers
When screening results indicate an infant requires further diagnostic testing and evaluation, the Newborn Screening Program contacts the infant's healthcare provider with disorder-specific recommendations. The provider is then responsible for informing the parents.
Health care providers are required by state law to report to the Newborn Screening Program the date that they notified the infant's parent or guardian of the need for diagnostic testing.
- 57.2% of these reports were received by the Newborn Screening Program. This is a decrease of 6.5 percentage points from the previous year.
- 77.7% of the parent/guardian notifications were considered on-time. This is a decrease of 0.5 percentage points from the previous year.
Quality: Unsatisfactory Specimens & Demographic Errors on Specimen Cards
This report also includes data regarding specimen quality measures. Detailed specimen quality statistics by hospital are included. All midwife, birth center, clinic and laboratory performance data are reported in aggregate.
- 2.5% of all specimens submitted were classified as unsatisfactory (poor sample quality). This is an increase of 0.4 percentage points from the previous year.
- 12.0% of all specimen cards submitted had one or more demographic errors. This is an improvement of 6.7 percentage points from the previous year.
Additional data can be found in the full report:
Newborn Screening Program Annual Report - 2017 (PDF)
Newborn Screening Program Annual Report - 2016 (PDF)
Newborn Screening Program Annual Report - 2015 (PDF)
Newborn Screening Program Annual Report - 2014 (PDF)
Screening and Disorder Summary Statistics
Please visit our Screening and Disorder Summaries webpage for information on the number of infants screened, number of specimens tested, and number of infants diagnosed with newborn screening disorders in Washington State. These statistics are updated quarterly.
Annual Board of Health Report
The Board of Health report is compiled in accordance with Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 246-650-040 which requires an annual report to the State Board of Health detailing newborn screening follow-up procedures and annual data on infants screened, infants detected, and the cost of screening. Starting in 2015, the Annual Board of Health Report has been combined with the Newborn Screening Program Annual Report.
Board of Health Report- 2014 (PDF)