KEYWORDS:
Helpdesk, Technical Assistance, Web, End User Communication
BACKGROUND:
The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) contracts with six regional offices to enroll, train, and assist users on the Michigan Childhood Immunization Registry (MCIR). Each region is responsible for operating its own helpdesk. MDCH also contracts with the Michigan Public Health Institute’s (MPHI) Office of Technology and Information Systems to provide high-level technical assistance to the regional offices. Statewide, the registry is accessed at all 45 local public health departments, approximately 2,000 private immunization provider sites and a growing number of view-only sites (currently 500 health care organizations, schools, and day care centers).
OBJECTIVE:
Provide registry assistance to end users at the local and regional levels.
Create and share a knowledgebase of common end user issues and remedies.
METHOD:
Each regional office is assigned a toll-free helpdesk number. End users call the number and are assisted by regional staff. Issues that cannot be resolved at the regional helpdesk level are reported to MPHI via a web tracking application. MPHI staff research and troubleshoot issues; resolutions to common issues are compiled. Bugs to be fixed are reported to the MCIR web development team.
RESULT:
Regional and MPHI staff are successful in assisting end users with a variety of technical and training issues. Resources, such as cheat sheets, informational guides, and reference CD-ROMs, are shared among all regional staff.
CONCLUSION:
End users rely on the registry helpdesk to successfully utilize the registry.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Participants will learn strategies for operating a regional/statewide registry helpdesk.
Web Page: www.mcir.org
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