Monthly Update

October 2019 in Review

www.immregistries.org

In This Issue…

  1. Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)
  2. Measurement & Improvement Updates
  3. IIS Community Submits Comments on the 2020 National Vaccine Plan
  4. AIRA Staff Attends Texas Immunization Conference
  5. AIRA 2020 National Meeting Planning Kick Off
  6. AIRA Standards Team In-Person Meeting
  7. AIRA's Senior Management Team Meets In Person
  8. Recent Information Requests Added to the AIRA Repository
  9. Steering Committee Updates: October Recap

Check Out the AIRA Events Calendar for Upcoming…


Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met October 23–24, 2019. Highlights from the October meeting include:

Tdap

ACIP voted that Tdap can be used in situations in which Td is indicated for:

  1. The recommended 10-year tetanus booster
  2. Tetanus vaccine for wound management
  3. As a catch-up vaccine anytime an additional dose of tetanus and diphtheria vaccine is needed for someone over 7 years of age, including in pregnant women

These recommendations have been adopted by the CDC director and will become official once published in the MMWR.

 2020 Immunization Schedules

The 2020 pediatric and adult immunization schedules were approved by ACIP. There were minor revisions requested by the committee, and the final versions will be posted on the CDC website shortly. 


Measurement & Improvement Updates

All we can say is WOW! Thank you, members, for responding so quickly to the latest Measurement and Improvement reports! The IIS community continues to amaze as we all strive toward standards alignment. Following the first-ever Clinical Decision Support (CDS) Assessment reports released in Quarter 2, 2019, we saw significant improvements in just one measurement cycle. Quarter 3, 2019, CDS individual reports were released in AART in September, and the CDS aggregate report is now published on the AIRA repository here.

Again, thank you for all your hard work as we continue to improve data quality and accuracy of IIS coverage rate reports through standards alignment across the country.  

Need help? AIRA’s technical assistance team is ready to assist you in understanding your AART dashboard and results, helping prioritize work, and supporting your movement toward better alignment with standards. Do not hesitate to contact us for technical assistance. We can quickly answer a question or dive deeper into topics such as assisting you and your IIS technical development team to better understand issues and make plans to more fully align with standards. Fill out a Technical Assistance Request or contact Kristi Siahaya at [email protected] for more information. 


IIS Community Submits Comments on the 2020 National Vaccine Plan

Thank you to everyone across the IIS community who responded to the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy's request for information for input into what should be included in the 2020 National Vaccine Plan. Comments were consolidated across the entire IIS community and were submitted on October 24.

AIRA’s comments highlighted the need for investment in nation-wide immunization information infrastructure. Specifically, our three key strategies were:

  • Strengthening immunization information system capabilities
  • Enhancing policies that support broad data capture, exchange and use
  • Improving quality measurement tools to track progress and identify gap areas of immunization coverage

AIRA Staff Attends Texas Immunization Conference

AIRA staff attended the Texas 2019 Immunization Conference, held October 23-25 in Dallas, Texas. The conference was convened by the Texas Department of State Health Services, and brought immunization partners together to share information, discuss current issues, and recommend strategies for improving immunization rates across Texas.

There were several sessions focused on the benefits the Texas IIS (ImmTrac2) brings to providers and many suggestions shared about supporting future enhancements. AIRA staff was also able to meet the Texas Immunization Program’s new immunization program manager, Tony Aragon, pictured below listening to Dr. Melinda Wharton from CDC.

                  


AIRA 2020 National Meeting Planning Kickoff

It may seem like the AIRA 2019 National Meeting in Indianapolis was just yesterday, but for AIRA staff it is never too early to begin planning for next year. The National Meeting planning team met in Chicago, Illinois, for a two-day in-person meeting to review the 2019 evaluation forms submitted by attendees (your input matters!) and to discuss ways in which the National Meeting can continue to help advance the IIS community. So, if you haven't already, save the date for #AIRA2020, August 11–13, in Portland, Oregon!

Pictured from left to right: Amanda Branham, Carmela Gupta, Ketti Turcato, Maureen Neary, Alison Chi

Center: Brittany Gyer


AIRA Standards Team In-Person Meeting

AIRA’s Standards Team met in Portland, Oregon, October 15–17. The first day was dedicated to preparation for the Measurement for Assessment and Certification Advisory Workgroup (MACAW) in-person meeting that will be held the week of November 18 in Chicago. Jim Pearsol, AIRA’s MACAW in-person facilitator, also joined the AIRA team to help finalize the content and agenda details. 

The last day and half were focused on project planning and development through July 2020.  The team worked through technical and operational topics, including increasing technical assistance, new content areas and current content areas moving into Validation within Measurement and Improvement, and prioritizing AART development enhancements. With a little bit of rain and sun while in Portland, the three days of meetings were full of creativity as the Standards Team planned better and more efficient ways to support our members.

Pictured from left to right: Mary Beth Kurilo, Maureen Neary, Kim Rutland, Kristi Siahaya, Eric Larson

Not present for photo: Tracy Little, Nathan Bunker and Jim Pearsol 


AIRA's Senior Management Team Meets In Person

AIRA’s senior management team met in person in early October to plan and strategize AIRA’s activities and initiatives for the coming year. AIRA staff who attended the meeting included executive director Rebecca Coyle, program director Alison Chi, policy and planning director Mary Beth Kurilo, business and operations director Amanda Dayton, and executive assistant Jolyn Preston. Updates were provided on all the efforts under way, and budgets and timelines for future projects were also discussed. This meeting provided a valuable opportunity for AIRA’s management team to evaluate the progress of AIRA’s activities and plan for the future.

Pictured from left to right: Mary Beth Kurilo, Rebecca Coyle, Amanda Dayton, Alison Chi

Not present for photo: Jolyn Preston


 Recent Information Requests Added to the AIRA Repository

The recent Information Requests on the following topics can be found by using the “Information Requests” filter in the AIRA repository, specifically: 

  • Promoting IIS
  • Supplying letters confirming active engagement for Stage 3 MIPS/Promoting Interoperability to individual clinics
  • Health plans using QBP to query members for HEDIS measures
  • Out-of-state schools and IIS access
  • Using IIS for text reminder/recall for immunizations

Information Requests are viewable only by individual members and individuals affiliated with member and partner organizations. Just log in to view these valuable resources! If you have any questions, please email membership coordinator Amanda Branham.


Steering Committee Updates: October Recap

Assessment Steering Committee

  • The ASC meets on a quarterly basis and the next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 3.

Education Steering Committee

  • The Education Steering Committee met on October 18 and CDC and the Public Health Informatics Institute provided information on their upcoming work.
  • Articles for the upcoming edition of SnapShots are due to SnapShots editor Katie Reed by November 8. You can read the latest edition here!
  • The committee received an update and provided input on an IIS-based reminder/recall webinar series being developed by AIRA and the University of Colorado.
  • Planning for the 2020 National Meeting is under way and the committee reviewed AIRA 2020 National Meeting breakout session topics.
Standards & Interoperability Steering Committee
  • The Standards and Interoperability Steering Committee (SISC) met on October 9 and received an update on technical assistance and the September HL7 Workgroup meeting.
  • The committee discussed participating in future FHIR Connectathons with an immunization conference held at the HL7 Workgroup Meetings.
  • The SISC also discussed future 2020 workplan topics.
  • The SISC Technical Workgroup did not meet during the month of October.
MIROW Steering Committee
  • The Modeling of Immunization Registry Operations Workgroup (MIROW) Steering Committee (SC) met on October 24 and:
    • Received an update on the status of the 2018–19 Business Continuity Guide
    • Discussed the project to consolidate business rules into reports
    • Considered next steps for MIROW in late 2019 and 2020
  • The Business Continuity Guide and Mini-Guide are in the graphic design process. The guide and mini-guide are expected to be available in December.

NOTE: Steering Committee minutes will capture only action items and decisions made. Recordings of the meetings can be obtained directly upon request by emailing [email protected].