Learning Objectives for this Presentation:
By the end of this presentation participants will be able to...
1. Understand the complexity of assessing immunization status
2. Describe the concept of a web service
3. Visualize the implementation of a web service to analyze immunization status from remote electronic records
4. Understand the advantages and barriers of a web service


Background:
WellCareTracker™ (www.wellcaretracker.org) is a secure, web-based application launched in 2002 which tracks and assesses immunizations and other preventive care services for child care centers in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Utah, Illinois, and Connecticut. 328 centers have entered information on 14,129 children. The logic required to assess completeness of immunizations and preventive care services has been externalized for use by remote immunization registries and electronic records.


Setting:
Immunization registries, commercial vendors with immunizations and preventive care services data such as screenings for anemia, hearing, vision, development, lead, and growth parameters.


Population:
All children with immunization and preventive care services information stored in electronic format which can be transmitted online in a pre-defined format.


Project Description:
The complex logic necessary to accurately assess immunizations and preventive care services has been externalized to be used as a web service. A web-based testing mechanism has been developed to allow for rigorous testing and for storage of various scenarios. A commercial EMR vendor has successfully used the web service to transmit immunization data and display the resulting assessment generated by the web service.


Results/Lessons Learned:
A remote web service can be used successfully to analyze immunization records. Such a service that is rigorously tested and centrally maintained can be relied upon by diverse electronic systems to provide accurate assessments of their own data without having to "reinvent the wheel" and maintain their own algorithms. Latest recommendations in the algorithm can be centrally updated, tested, and distributed. Standards in transmitting data and results are necessary for successful implementation.