Case Submission Information

Case Submission Policies

HIPAA Regulations

To ensure that case reports are compliant with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations, please read the list of 18 elements that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and National Institutes of Health require the removal of from shared public health information. In the statements below, the health care provider is considered the “covered entity.”

De-Identifying Protected Health Information Under the Privacy Rule

Covered entities may use or disclose health information that is de-identified without restriction under the Privacy Rule. Covered entities seeking to release this health information must determine that the information has been de-identified using either statistical verification of de-identification or by removing certain pieces of information from each record as specified in the Rule. The Privacy Rule allows a covered entity to de-identify data by removing all 18 elements that could be used to identify the individual or the individual’s relatives, employers or household members; these elements are enumerated in the Privacy Rule. The covered entity also must have no actual knowledge that the remaining information could be used alone or in combination with other information to identify the individual who is the subject of the information.

Under this method, the identifiers that must be removed from the case and images submitted are the following:

Names.
All geographic subdivisions smaller than a state, including street address, city, county, precinct, ZIP code and their equivalent geographical codes, except for the initial three digits of a ZIP code if, according to the current publicly available data from the Bureau of the Census:

The geographic unit formed by combining all ZIP codes with the same three initial digits contains more than 20,000 people.
The initial three digits of a ZIP code for all such geographic units containing 20,000 or fewer people are changed to 000.
All elements of dates (except year) directly related to an individual, including birth date, admission date, discharge date, date of death; and all ages over 89 and all elements of dates (including year) indicative of such age, except that such ages and elements may be aggregated into a single category of age 90 or older.
Telephone numbers.
Facsimile numbers.
Electronic mail addresses.
Social security numbers.
Medical record numbers.
Health plan beneficiary numbers.
Account numbers.
Certificate/license numbers.
Vehicle identifiers and serial numbers, including license plate numbers.
Device identifiers and serial numbers.
Web universal resource locators (URLs).
Internet protocol (IP) address numbers.
Biometric identifiers, including fingerprints and voiceprints.
Full-face photographic images and any comparable images.
Any other unique identifying number, characteristic, or code, unless otherwise permitted by the Privacy Rule for re-identification.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. (2 Feb. 2007). “HIPAA Privacy Rule.” In addition, if an image of a physical finding is present (even if it is not identifiable), please confirm that the patient or their legal representative has signed a consent form for the image or images to be published for medical education, and that the consent form is on file. The consent form should NOT be submitted but should be kept on file.

Embargo and Copyright Policy

Case reports are considered official communications of the conference. The presenting author and co-authors must comply with the IDWeek embargo policy, which states that case reports must be based on results that have not been previously published and are not anticipated to be published before the meeting UNLESS the publication occurs AFTER the case withdrawal deadline. Case reports must not be submitted if previously presented at a national or international meeting such as IDSA, SHEA, ICAAC, ASM, CROI or ECCMID. The IDWeek Program Committee will consider case reports that have been previously submitted at smaller/regional meetings but have not been published in a journal and on the proviso that no rights have previously been transferred; however, all new or updated data must be included in the case report.

Authors and co-authors transfer any copyrights and agree to release the case report for future IDWeek publication on idimages.org and in all formats including translation, the production of audio/video record oral presentations for later sale or publication, and the right to allow third parties to carry out any of these activities.

Please note: In submitting your case report you also warrant that you have exercised reasonable care to ensure that the article is accurate and does not contain anything libelous, or obscene, or infringes on anyone’s copyright, right of privacy or other rights.

All case reports must be embargoed until Oct. 21 at 12:01 a.m. ET, with the exception of research findings presented at IDWeek press conferences.

General & Adult Submission Process

Cover Letter & Consent

All submitting/presenting authors must complete and submit a cover letter and consent form stating:

That the submitter/presenter is enrolled as a fellow in an ID training program or as a resident or medical student;
The case has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere;
That no confidential patient information is revealed (see HIPAA Regulations and list of 18 identifiers that must be removed);
That if the case includes an image of a physical finding, a signed consent form from the patient or legal guardian has been obtained and is on file at the institution;
All contributors are acknowledged in the letter and case report, have given their permission for the case to be published on the Partners Infectious Disease Images website and have agreed to the transfer of copyright of the case and images to the Infectious Diseases Society of America if the case is accepted for presentation;
That the case includes the affiliations of all the contributing authors;
The units and reference ranges for all laboratory tests are specified.

*All authors must sign the cover letter and consent form. If case submissions are found not to be HIPAA compliant, they will be automatically rejected without the option to edit or amend.

Images

Each submitted case should include images that illustrate important teaching points related to infectious diseases. Examples:

Fungal and mycobacterial infections;
Viral infections;
Bacterial infections;
Parasitic diseases;
Infections of immunocompromised hosts;
Tropical infectious diseases.

Pediatric Submission Process

Cover Letter

Case presentations are always a popular part of the Pediatric Fellows’ Day workshop! We are excited to consider interesting pediatric cases from medical students, pediatric residents, pediatric infectious diseases fellows, and trainees in combined programs including one of the above. Please pay careful attention to the instructions that follow and be sure to read the helpful tips on what makes a great case.

All submitting/presenting authors must complete and submit a signed cover letter stating:

That the submitter/presenter is enrolled as a fellow in an ID training program or as a pediatric resident or medical student;
The case has not been published and will not be published prior to Fellows’ Day;
That no confidential patient information is revealed (see HIPAA Regulations and list of 18 identifiers that must be removed);
That if the case includes an image of a physical finding, a signed consent form from the patient or legal guardian has been obtained and is on file;
That the case includes the affiliations of all the contributing authors;
The units and reference ranges for all laboratory tests are specified.

*All authors must sign the cover letter. If case submissions are found not to be HIPAA compliant, they will be automatically rejected without the option to edit or amend.

Also, trainees selected to present their case in the past will not be selected in a subsequent year. If you have submitted a case in the past that was not selected, you are welcome to submit again the following year. Presentations will be given in person at the IDWeek Pediatric Fellows’ Day pre-meeting workshop on Wednesday morning, Oct 21, 2026.

Images

Each submitted case should include images that illustrate important teaching points related to pediatric infectious diseases. We are looking for cases that illustrate an unusual presentation of a common disease, as well as those that highlight a common presentation of a rare disease. Cases that highlight the infectious complication of an immune deficiency will also be considered.

Case Submission Information

Case Submission Policies

General & Adult Submission Process

Pediatric Submission Process

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