How Do You Measure the Performance of Immunization Registries?

How do you measure the progress and achievement of immunization registries? A paper recently published in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice* discusses a tool for providing providers and policymakers with information about the efficiency of immunization registries and other public health technology investments.

All Kids Count, a program funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to foster development of state-and community-based immunization registries, undertook the development, implementation and evaluation of indicators of immunization registries in order to measure registries’ progress toward their goal of becoming fully operational. The quantitative performance indicators monitored the progress of 16 All Kid Count grantees in four broad areas of immunization registry development: database maturity; timeliness of data capture; provider participation, and immunization coverage levels.

Results were reviewed to determine if

1. the indicators measured immunization registry progress,
2. the results could be compared across All Kids Count projects, and
3. other immunization registries could use the indicators.

The study found that the AKC performance indicators provide a useful template for registries to measure the maturity and progress of information system development, although there are significant challenges to formulating generic indicators that are comparable across multiple systems. It acknowledges that, as registries mature during the coming years, the indicators will need to be expanded to include other performance measures.

This paper concludes that, as states begin linking immunization registries to other information systems, indicators will play an important role in informing funding agencies on progress and achievements of public health information systems.

*Saarlas, Kristin N, Edwards KC, Wild E, and Richmond, P. “Developing Performance Measures for Immunization Registries,” Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 2003, 9(1) 47-57. Reprints of this paper are available for downloading from the All Kids Count web site: www.allkidscount.org. (For additional information, contact ksaarlas@allkidscount.org.)

April 2003 SnapShots Headlines