A new child-immunization tracking system that connects doctors and clinics directly into the state Health Department database is expected to both increase the number of children receiving their shots and decrease the number who get duplicate shots.
The Utah State Immunization Information System was created to link doctors and clinics into immunization records with the click of a mouse, telling the physician when a child is due for a shot and making the little yellow immunization records, which parents sometimes lose, unnecessary. Immunization records can be called up anytime, anywhere, as long as the person requesting it has the proper right to access the information, said Dr. Tamara Lewis, Intermountain Health Care medical director for community health and prevention. If children receive shots from different clinics or providers, the information's all in one place. And providers can simply print out forms required for school, personal immunization records and more.
IHC was one of the first Utah health systems to partner with the health department to create USIIS and piloted the program, called WebKIDS, at one of its clinics. Within the next two years, all IHC providers will be linked into the system, Lewis said. And all pediatric facilities and physicians are being encouraged to link in.
That early collaboration was one reason cited by the American Association of Health Plans when it presented IHC Health Plans its "Celebrating Innovations in Immunization 2002 First Place Award" for its child immunization program.
Using a feature called Forecast, a physician can look at the immunization records of children coming in the following day to see whether shots are current. Nurses save time because they're not hand-entering or writing the information over and over on various forms.
David Richards, an IHC clinical applications specialist, conducted time studies that found the program simplifies the whole process, from giving shots to documenting them and providing appropriate records, saving "chunks of time."
The program also has a feature that manages inventory of vaccines, which makes it easier to keep the right quantity on hand, but also simplifies tracking in case there's a problem with a vaccination. And it will track reactions to them.
"That helps us to know if they really are safe and efficacious," Lewis said. "We think they are. But this helps us know for sure."
Vaccines are not without controversy. Some people oppose vaccinations for a variety of reasons, including belief that they can be harmful and lead to complications like autism. In fact, it was by tracking reactions that a problem with the rotovirus vaccine was discovered.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to accredit in some way vaccination programs. Utah's efforts will be scrutinized early because "we are further along," Lewis said. "They will be able to use us as a group to help define criteria for the program."
The files are created first from Utah birth records, and the first entries will be shots given at the hospital. Often, in the past, those records were not compiled with later shots because the child's pediatrician didn't know what shots were given.
And just as families can opt out of meeting school immunization requirements, families can also opt out of the state's database. Information is available on the USIIS HelpLine at 801-538-6872, the Immunization Hotline at 1-800-275-0659 or online at www.usiis.org.
E-MAIL: lois@desnews.com