Version 21.1
About
An automatic connection from OP to your immunization registry is an incredible time-saver for your practice. However, sometimes practices may not understand proper workflows to get vaccines transferred from OP to their state IIS (immunization information system) as smoothly as possible. This article outlines common pitfalls we see with practice connections to IIS systems.
Incomplete Demographic Information - Patient
To send a vaccine to an immunization registry, you obviously need to have all the details of the vaccine (vaccine name, lot, site, route, etc). But you also must have adequate demographic data on the patient. While states vary a little bit on the minimum demographic data required, this guide shows all the information we recommend you send:
Tips for completion for recommended fields and where to enter them:
| Field Name | Location | Tips |
| Email address | Demographics > Basic Information | If entered, it must include @, suffix (e.g. .com, .net), and have no spaces. It is better to omit an email address than insert a malformed one. |
| Race and ethnicity | Demographics > Basic Information | Most registries expect that you will be able to provide race and ethnicity for the majority of your patients. Be sure your staff are exercising due diligence to collect this data, rather than simply selecting "Declined to specify" for all patients. |
| Middle initial | Demographics > Basic Information | Including a patient's middle initial in their demographics helps disambiguate among patients with the same name and DOB in your state. This helps make sure the vaccines you send are added to the correct IIS entry, and also that IIS entries you pull from a bidirectional interface actually belong to your patient. |
| Mother's maiden name | Clinical > History > Maternal/Pregnancy | Very important at disambiguation.
|
User Permissions: Users will need to have the user permission called F8_Peds_BirthHx_btn to view and edit a mother's maiden name and other components of a child's history. |
Please note that all this information should be entered in OP BEFORE a vaccine is entered. When a new vaccine is created, that record will be sent instantly to your IIS using the demographic information already in the child's chart. So entering a vaccine --> then trying to complete the demographics afterwards --> actually results in more work for your staff.
- Make it a priority for staff members to complete and update demographic data before, or at, check-in, as opposed to at checkout (after the vaccine is given).
- As of OP version 21.1.0, you can now use customizable required fields to require that staff fill in the fields that are required for your state's IIS when creating a new patient chart.
Incomplete Demographic Information - Parent
Not only should you have complete demographic information on the child, you should also have all the minimum-necessary demographic information on a parent.
Again, while the precise minimum demographics differ between IIS, here are OP's standard recommendations. The following information should be complete for at least one parent/guardian for all patients under the age of 18:
Note: Some state registries require this data for all patients under the age of 19. |
Immunization Privacy/Sharing Consent Not Documented
States whose IIS are "opt-in" require a formal documentation of consent to submit immunization PHI to the IIS.
Regarding Patient Age and Consent: Consent requirements are defined by your state and are subject to change. Consult with your Registry contact with any questions around documenting consent. |
To document this in a patient's chart:
- From the patient chart, navigate to Demographics > Privacy/Sharing.
- Scroll down to locate the Documented consent of submission to third party section:
- The Third Party field should be pre-populated with the name of your state immunization registry or registries. (If you need to sign up for a new immunization registry, please contact your OP Account Manager.)
- Enter the consent documentation. The minimum-necessary fields you must add are Consent Status and the Effective Date. Expiration Date and Additional Notes are optional:
Note: As with patient and parent demographic data, consent must be documented BEFORE a vaccine is given and entered into a patient's chart. |
Version 21.0
About
An automatic connection from OP to your immunization registry is an incredible time-saver for your practice. However, sometimes practices may not understand proper workflows to get vaccines transferred from OP to their state IIS (immunization information system) as smoothly as possible. This article outlines common pitfalls we see with practice connections to IIS systems.
Incomplete Demographic Information - Patient
To send a vaccine to an immunization registry, you obviously need to have all the details of the vaccine (vaccine name, lot, site, route, etc). But you also must have adequate demographic data on the patient. While states vary a little bit on the minimum demographic data required, this guide shows all the information we recommend you send:
Tips for completion for recommended fields and where to enter them:
| Field Name | Location | Tips |
| Email address | Demographics > Basic Information | If entered, it must include @, suffix (e.g. .com, .net), and have no spaces. It is better to omit an email address than insert a malformed one. |
| Race and ethnicity | Demographics > Basic Information | Most registries expect that you will be able to provide race and ethnicity for the majority of your patients. Be sure your staff are exercising due diligence to collect this data, rather than simply selecting "Declined to specify" for all patients. |
| Middle initial | Demographics > Basic Information | Including a patient's middle initial in their demographics helps disambiguate among patients with the same name and DOB in your state. This helps make sure the vaccines you send are added to the correct IIS entry, and also that IIS entries you pull from a bidirectional interface actually belong to your patient. |
| Mother's maiden name | Clinical > History > Maternal/Pregnancy | Very important at disambiguation.
|
User Permissions: Users will need to have the user permission called F8_Peds_BirthHx_btn to view and edit a mother's maiden name and other components of a child's history. |
Please note that all this information should be entered in OP BEFORE a vaccine is entered. When a new vaccine is created, that record will be sent instantly to your IIS using the demographic information already in the child's chart. So entering a vaccine --> then trying to complete the demographics afterwards --> actually results in more work for your staff.
- Make it a priority for staff members to complete and update demographic data before, or at, check-in, as opposed to at checkout (after the vaccine is given).
Incomplete Demographic Information - Parent
Not only should you have complete demographic information on the child, you should also have all the minimum-necessary demographic information on a parent.
Again, while the precise minimum demographics differ between IIS, here are OP's standard recommendations. The following information should be complete for at least one parent/guardian for all patients under the age of 18:
Note: Some state registries require this data for all patients under the age of 19. |
Immunization Privacy/Sharing Consent Not Documented
States whose IIS are "opt-in" require a formal documentation of consent to submit immunization PHI to the IIS.
Regarding Patient Age and Consent: Consent requirements are defined by your state and are subject to change. Consult with your Registry contact with any questions around documenting consent. |
To document this in a patient's chart:
- From the patient chart, navigate to Demographics > Privacy/Sharing.
- Scroll down to locate the Documented consent of submission to third party section:
- The Third Party field should be pre-populated with the name of your state immunization registry or registries. (If you need to sign up for a new immunization registry, please contact your OP Account Manager.)
- Enter the consent documentation. The minimum-necessary fields you must add are Consent Status and the Effective Date. Expiration Date and Additional Notes are optional:
Note: As with patient and parent demographic data, consent must be documented BEFORE a vaccine is given and entered into a patient's chart. |
