8 minute read

JULY 3, 2024

Happy Summer,

I hope everyone is enjoying the warmer weather and longer days! June is historically a busy month for meetings, and this past month was reminiscent of 2019. 

To kick off June, Mary Beth Kurilo, Senior Director of Health Informatics at AIRA, and I participated in the Public Health Informatics Institute’s (PHII) New IIS Managers Meeting in Georgia from June 4–6. The annual workshop, sponsored by CDC and supported by PHII and AIRA, offers modules on data quality, data use, budgeting and sustainability, change management and communications, and many more topics essential for IIS leaders. Participants from the following jurisdictions—Colorado, Montana, Tennessee, South Carolina, Guam, Puerto Rico, Houston, and San Antonio—shared knowledge, experience, and lessons learned as they connected across their peer network.

From June 10–14, I attended the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) meeting in Washington, DC, where I delivered a presentation on the future of IIS. This quarter's meeting covered a wide range of topics, including discussions on the persistent health inequities in immunization coverage among specific subpopulations. Other key topics included preparation for the upcoming respiratory illness season and advancements in breast cancer vaccines. The agenda and presentation recordings can be accessed on the NVAC meeting web page.

Additionally, I had the opportunity to attend the Maternal Immunization Task Force Meeting in Washington, DC, hosted by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG), where we discussed the opportunities and challenges for administering vaccines to pregnant persons. To close out the month, the June Discovery Session, Emerging Standards, took place on June 24 where attendees learned about the efforts being made to advance and track emerging standards in IIS, such as FHIR.

Looking ahead:

• The June ACIP meeting was held June 26–28; meeting highlights will be shared as they become available.
• Join us on July 22 for our next Discovery Session, Moving Needles: Increasing Connectivity Between Post-Acute and Long-Term Care (PALTC) EHRs and IIS.

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Independence Day!

Rebecca Coyle, MSEd

Executive Director

AIRA is soliciting proposals from firms to provide audit and tax services for up to a five-year period, with the option for an additional three-year extension. Please visit AIRA’s Employment Opportunities web page to view the Request for Proposals (RFP) and the RFP Attachments document. Please be sure to submit all proposals to Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser., no later than 5 p.m. ET, Friday, July 12.

Please join us for the upcoming AIRA Members and Partners meeting on Monday, July 15, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. ET. AIRA Members and Partners quarterly meetings provide important updates from AIRA and partner organizations. They are also a great way to get a high-level overview of the activities going on within the IIS and immunization community. Members and Partners meetings are held on Zoom.

At our next quarterly Member and Partners meeting, we will have a new partner, CDC's Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance and Technology (OPHDST), share about their work. During this meeting, we will get an overview from OPHDST, focusing on their work with the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA). OPHDST's mission is to optimize timely access, exchange, and integration of public health data while driving efficiency and consolidation of data and technology systems supported by CDC across all levels of public health. OPHDST will plan to attend and provide re-occurring updates on AIRA's future Member and Partner calls as well.

The registration link will automatically take you to Zoom.

We hope you can join us. Recordings of past meetings can be found in the AIRA Repository.

The June edition of SnapShots is now available in the AIRA Repository. This edition features articles highlighting the work from two jurisdictions, Illinois and Louisiana. Learn how Illinois teamed up with AIRA and an independent consulting firm to create a public-facing Tableau dashboard and how Louisiana partnered with STChealth to determine the effectiveness of late-season flu vaccine reminders. In this edition, you will also hear from AIRA’s Publication Project Workgroup, PHII, and our very own Nathan Bunker as he invites you to the Tech Corner to “think like a hacker.”

Our next edition of SnapShots will be published in September, and we want to feature your work! If you or a colleague are working on something you would like to share with the IIS community, submit an article for consideration by Monday, July 15 to Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser. or Gabriella Wagoner at Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.. Remember, to be considered for inclusion, your content must relate to a jurisdiction or have a jurisdiction as a co-author.

The 2024 SnapShots schedule and previous editions of our quarterly newsletter can be found in the AIRA Repository.

On Tuesday, July 17, from 1 to 2 p.m. ET, AIRA brings together experts from different domains in a webinar to discuss the optimization of IIS. The speakers, representing IIS, IIS vendors, and implementers, will share their perspectives, insights, and best practices on leveraging technology, data management, and research to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of adolescent IIS data.

Key topics to be explored:

1. Unveiling the potential: challenges and opportunities in IIS optimization
2. Achieving operational excellence: insights from IIS implementers and best practices
3. Empowering research: leveraging IIS data for life-saving discoveries and strategies

Join us for this dynamic webinar to gain a comprehensive understanding of how the optimization of IIS can make a significant difference in protecting lives. Get inspired by real-world examples, cutting-edge technologies, and innovative approaches that can transform the landscape of immunization programs.

There will be time for questions and answers at the end of the webinar.

Once you have registered, you will receive a confirmation email which contains links to add the meeting to your calendar. This meeting will be available in the AIRA Repository. 

Join us for the next AIRA Discovery Session on Monday, July 22, from 4 to 5 p.m. ET to hear from the Society for Post-Acute and Long-term Care Medicine Inc. (AMDA) and AIRA about Moving Needles, a CDC-funded initiative to increase the connectivity between Post-Acute and Long-term Care EHRs and IIS.

During the session, you’ll hear about:

• Challenges to interoperability between PALTC EHRs and IIS
• Specific recommendations to increase connectivity
• Introduction of a guide for EHR vendors to assist their preparation for immunization interoperability with public health

There will be time for questions and answers at the end of the webinar.

Once you have registered, you will receive a confirmation email which contains links to add the meeting to your calendar. 

If you’re unable to attend, this session will be recorded and available in the AIRA Repository.

AIRA members can submit and review information requests—a circulation of questions to and answers from the community. To submit an information request to the IIS community, email Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser. with “Information Request” in the subject line.

New Summaries Available

Recently, responses to two information requests were posted in the AIRA Repository:

• Flat File Uploads and Enhancing Reporting Systems: Request from Michigan for information regarding flat file uploads and the enhancement of reporting systems
• Streamlining Immunization Documentation for New Students: Request from Colorado for information regarding immunization documentation for new students

Open Information Requests

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services would like to know if any jurisdictions are open to sharing screenshots of their user interface related to race and ethnicity. Most specifically, if a message with two races or two ethnicities is sent to your system, how does your system map it to the record? How are multiple races or ethnicities displayed on your user interface?

If you are willing to share, please reach out to Sydney Zaldana at Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser. and copy Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser. by July 17, and don’t forget to include your contact information for follow-up.

Information requests are viewable only by individual members and individuals affiliated with member and partner organizations. Recent information requests can be found by using the “Information Requests” filter in the AIRA Repository. Just log in to view these valuable resources! If you have any questions, please email Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser..

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The Standards and Interoperability Steering Committee (SISC) is pleased to announce the publication of a new technical advisory bulletin (TAB) document. This document builds on and further clarifies specifications in the HL7 v2.5.1 Implementation Guide for Immunization Messaging, Release 1.5 and Addendum, October 2018.

“TAB Messaging Phone and Email; Telecommunication Use Code and Equipment Type Values” focuses on the representation of patient and next-of-kin phone numbers and email addresses in VXU and QBP messages for the v2.5.1 Implementation Guide for Immunization Messaging.

Key Specifications:

• Submit the patient's primary phone number in the first sequence of PID-13, QPD-9, or NK1-5 with telecommunication use code from HL70201 and telecommunication equipment type code from HL70202.
• Submit email addresses using the telecommunication use code “NET” from HL70201.
• Support telecommunication use codes “PRN” and “NET” from HL70201 and equipment type codes “PH” and “CP” from HL70202.

Fields for Messaging:

• PID-13 (Phone number – home)
• QPD-9 (Patient home phone/PID-13: Patient home phone)
• NK1-5 (Phone number)

This bulletin clarifies messaging for phone types and email addresses using the XTN data type and specifies the required telecommunication use code and equipment type value sets.

Implementers are expected to use TABs to support the development and maintenance of HL7 exchange capabilities and interfaces. Unless otherwise indicated, organizations shall use the TAB specifications to support implementation, as soon as feasible, working with exchange partners as needed to test and/or confirm changes. See the TAB Overview here for additional information about these documents.

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) recently released the 2023 Immunization Profile Study report. This survey assesses immunization capacity at local health departments (LHDs) nationwide, characterizing local activities to control vaccine preventable diseases and identifying challenges and opportunities to strengthen LHD immunization programs. It also offers a look at changes in capacity since 2017. Key findings show that LHDs’ top immunization-related priority for the next three years is addressing vaccine hesitancy. Give the 2023 Immunization Profile Study report a read and learn about their key findings and barriers.

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