Immunization Integration Program Executive Committee Selects 2022 Priorities for Improving Immunization Interoperability and Information Sharing

HIMSS Immunization Integration Program (IIP) Executive Committee, comprised of leaders representing clinicians, electronic health record (EHR) developers, immunization information systems (IIS), public health, health information exchanges (HIEs) and other key partners, identified its top priorities for 2022 to improve immunization interoperability, information sharing and management.

The Executive Committee — co-chaired by David McCormick, Director of the Immunization Division at the Indiana State Department of Health, and Stuart Weinberg, MD, Associate Professor in the Departments of Biomedical Informatics and Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center — announced four initial areas of focus.

• Accessing bulk query data from IIS: On average, IIS receive twice as many queries as submissions; key partner groups are unable to access the data they need in a timely manner because of disparate and/or inadequate query or bulk data protocols
• Data validation & addressing reasons for IIS rejections: Inconsistency in how data is entered such as dates entered in the future, birth date discrepancies, or missing fields can cause IIS to reject immunization messages; data validation prior to submission can improve acceptance
• Capturing race & ethnicity: Data gaps for race, ethnicity and preferred language or reporting “unknown” to IIS is common across the immunization information ecosystem
• Regularly updating of code sets: Out of sync code sets (e.g., NDCs for annual flu vaccine) between immunization data exchange partners impedes data interoperability and can prevent patients’ vaccinations from being recorded properly

Globally, vaccines save an estimated 2-3 million lives every year. Being up to date on vaccinations leads to overall better health outcomes, higher levels of productivity and lower healthcare costs. Interoperability between EHR and IIS plays a critical role in helping clinicians effectively manage immunization efforts and administer vaccines to improve public health.

Driven by HIMSS, the American Immunization Registry Association (AIRA) and the Drummond Group , IIP is under a multi-year cooperative agreement with the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A deeper look into the selected topics is expected to be addressed in future months. For more information about the IIP and its approach for addressing its 2022 priorities, visit IIP Collaborative.