IHIP P Form (Presumptive Cases): A Guide for Medical Officers

What a presumptive case means

IDSP uses three levels of case certainty. The official definitions are:

• Suspect case: identified by presenting symptoms (syndromic). This is the S form level.
• Presumptive (probable) case: "Diagnosis made on the typical history and clinical examination by a medical officer". This is the P form level.
• Confirmed case: "Clinical diagnosis with positive laboratory identification". This is the L form level.

So the P form is not for every patient with fever. It is for patients where a doctor has reached a probable diagnosis of a disease under surveillance. If a test is needed, the case moves on to the lab level automatically on IHIP, as explained below.

Who fills the P form

The older IDSP Form Guidelines called it the "Reporting Format for Presumptive Surveillance". It was compiled from the OPD and IPD of PHCs, CHCs, district hospitals, private hospitals and private practitioners, and signed by the Medical Officer.

On IHIP, the manuals describe P form users as health facility users at PHCs, CHCs, sub-district hospitals (SDH), district hospitals (DH), medical colleges and private hospitals. Each user ID is tied to one health facility. IDs are not self-created: the DSO requests them and the State Surveillance Officer approves them. In 2025 NCDC counted 43,180 P form reporting units, of which 81% reported.

In practice the MO is responsible for the diagnosis, while a data entry operator may do the typing. Either way the clinical judgement belongs to the doctor. Our IHIP user roles page shows how P form users sit between the sub-centre and the district.

The three P form entry types on IHIP

The shift to case-based data is one of the main changes from the old weekly paper system. See IHIP vs the old IDSP portal for the background.

Diseases on the older IDSP P form (historical list)

IHIP tracks 33 diseases, up from 18 under the earlier system, according to the 2021 PIB launch release. The official list of the 33 conditions has not been published in the sources we could check, so we do not reproduce one.

What we can show is the tally sheet from the older IDSP "Training Manual for Paramedical Staff For Hospital Based Disease Surveillance". This is historical and may differ from the current IHIP drop-down. It had 21 rows:

1. Acute Diarrheal Disease (including acute gastroenteritis)
2. Bacillary Dysentery
3. Viral hepatitis
4. Enteric Fever
5. Malaria
6. Dengue/DHF/DSS
7. Chikungunya
8. Acute Encephalitis syndrome (AES)
9. Meningitis
10. Measles
11. Diphtheria
12. Pertussis
13. Chicken pox
14. Fever of unknown origin (PUO)
15. Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI)/influenza like illness (ILI)
16. Pneumonia
17. Leptospirosis
18. Acute Flaccid Paralysis < 15 years of age
19. Dog Bite
20. Snake Bite
21. Other

States could add state-specific diseases. Always pick from the list your IHIP screen shows. Our IDSP diseases list page compares the published lists.

How to enter a P form case: daily routine

The IHIP P form user manual says users are expected to enter data every day. A simple routine that follows the manuals:

1. Sign in on the official IHIP portal at ihip.mohfw.gov.in/idsp with your facility user ID, password and the 4-digit captcha. Use only this government address.
2. Open the P form and choose "Presumptive Cases".
3. Select the disease from the list shown for your state, based on the MO's probable diagnosis, not on symptoms alone.
4. Fill the case details as the screen asks. Check the date of onset: the manuals require it to fall within 30 days before the reporting date.
5. Check the lab link. According to the manuals, cases needing tests are auto-forwarded to the L form user linked to your facility, so the lab can add results.
6. Record deaths under "Death" on the same day you learn of them.
7. Save and review your entries before the day ends. Back-dated entry is discouraged.
8. Inform your DSO by phone of any cluster of similar cases, and raise an Event Alert if needed.

Common P form mistakes and how to avoid them

• Batching a week of cases on one day. IHIP expects daily entry. Late, back-dated entries weaken the early warning.
• Entering syndromes instead of diagnoses. "Fever" belongs on the S form at sub-centre level. The P form needs a probable diagnosis by a medical officer.
• Using Aggregate entry without permission. The manuals say aggregate entry needs DSO permission.
• Wrong onset dates. An onset date more than 30 days before the reporting date breaks the manual's rule.
• Forgetting the lab link. If your facility's linked L form user is wrong or missing, forwarded cases may not reach the right lab. Ask the DSU to check the mapping.
• Sharing one login. Each ID belongs to one facility user. Never share passwords or OTPs.

Timing: old Tuesday deadline and today's weekly review

Under the older paper system, the reporting week ran Monday to Sunday. PHC and CHC reports went to the District Surveillance Unit by Tuesday. Treat that deadline as historical. On IHIP, entry is daily and case-based, while performance is still measured weekly. The NHM Assam guideline for 2024 to 26, for example, still reports performance as weekly S, P and L form reporting.

NCDC reports a P form reporting rate of 82.01% for 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. See our reporting schedule guide for the epidemiological week, and the L form guide for what happens after a case is forwarded to the lab.