Streamlining School Immunization Compliance Reporting Through An IIS

Background:  The San Diego Regional Immunization Registry (SDIR) is a web-based immunization information system serving public and private healthcare providers, schools, and other authorized organizations in San Diego County.   To compile the yearly immunization compliance report required by the State, local schools can use SDIR to view and record individual student immunization records, as well as print the official California Immunization Record and the California School Immunization Records.  Reviewing student records on an individual basis is costly and time consuming.  A pilot project to automate this process allowing for multiple student uploads, by roster, has been completed and is now being refined.

Setting:  San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) and SDIR.

Population:  School-aged children, school administrators, school nurses, school-site clerical staff, and SDIR registry personnel.

Project Description:  In a pilot program between the County of San Diego and the San Diego Unified School District, the largest San Diego school district, a registry tool was developed to upload student files in a batch roster format and matches to corresponding immunization records in SDIR.  Authorized school staff may update a student’s immunization record through the interface, prior to final report generation, which also updates the registry directly. The final report shows the entire roster, listed by student, with current and missing immunization status.

Results/Lessons Learned:  The 2010 pilot included 115 elementary schools with 10,712 Kindergarteners from SDUSD.  Preliminary estimates demonstrate a decrease in time needed to complete immunization compliance reports from 5-10 minutes per student to 1 minute.  Collaboration between district and county staff was the key to making this project work.  Project management details, quality control issues, staff training, required workflow changes and other logistics will be presented.