KEYWORDS:
Registry, cost-benefit, recruitment of physicians
BACKGROUND:
One of the major concerns of providers contemplating contributing to an immunization registry is the cost and time necessary for personnel to enter data into the registry. To date, no data has been available comparing entering immunization data into an automated registry versus manual charting.
OBJECTIVE(S):
To compare costs of manual charting with entering data into an automated registry for various immunization scenarios.
METHOD(S):
Experienced nurses who routinely give immunizations and who have experience entering these immunizations into charts and the Kaiser Permanente KITS Immunization Tracking System (register) were timed for several scenarios typical of office-based-practice. (For example, 2 month old routine immunizations, 12 year old requesting immunization record for school, 4 year old immunizations from previous provider, etc.) Each scenario was entered by the nurse in both the automated KITS system and manually using a vaccine log, the American Academy of Pediatrics' Vaccine Administration Record, and the State of California Patient Immunization Record. Times were recorded and compared, using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test.
RESULT(S):
Preliminary analysis indicates a significant advantage to using automated registry systems, over manual charting and reporting. Additional nurses with varying amounts of experience and differing scenarios are being added to the study, and results will be complete before the conference.
CONCLUSIONS(S):
The use of an automated immunization registry greatly reduces staff time and cost.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Participants will be able to describe the advantages and cost savings of using an automated immunization registry verses manual charting.
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Back to Grow: Provider Participation and Recruitment — Part II
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