Integrating Newborn Screening Systems
with Immunization Registries

With recent advances in information technology, health care providers are increasingly recognizing the potential of health information systems to not only improve office work flow efficiency but also to provide more accurate information for improved quality of care. Community-based immunization registries are among the first health information systems to demonstrate that they can provide accurate and timely information to health care providers about the immunizations that the children of a community receive. Now, a paper published in the August 2001 issue of Pediatrics reports that 92% of primary care physicians surveyed would welcome state information systems that provide them with timely, direct access to all newborn screening results, both positive and negative. Over 4 million infants are screened at birth each year.

The 2000 Immunization Registry Annual Report conducted by CDC/NIP in April 2000 and published in the January 12, 2001, issue of MMWR, indicated that of the 64 CDC immunization grantees with population based immunization registries, just over 10% link with newborn screening systems. The challenge for state health departments is how to develop systems that are not redundant with other health information systems and do not impose increased cost and time burdens on health care professionals.

The National Task Force on Newborn Screening addressed this issue last year in a report that included a recommendation to integrate state newborn screening systems with the health care delivery system and publicly funded infant and child health programs, such as immunization registries (Pediatrics. 2000; 10; suppl:383-427). Toward this end, the Genetic Services Branch of the Maternal Child Health Bureau (GSB/MCHB), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in 1999 and 2000 awarded planning grants to 17 states to stimulate the integration of newborn screening programs with other public health programs. In 2001, GSB/MCHB awarded 5 additional planning grants and 5 new implementation grants.

In July, GSB/MCHB contracted with the Center for Innovation in Health Information Systems to identify and describe best practices leading to the integration of newborn metabolic screening programs with other public health programs and their information systems. The Center for Innovation also includes the All Kids Count program, which was instrumental in the development of immunization registries and is currently funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to foster integration of child health information systems.

Through June 2002, the Center for Innovation staff will be reviewing planning grantees' grant applications, progress reports and final reports, and conducting site visits to selected states. The end goal is to produce a "Source Book" of best practices and case studies that can be used as a reference guide for GSB/MCHB and states that are planning or in the process of integrating programs and information systems. For information, contact Terry Hastings, thastings@centerforinnovation.org, 404-687-5611.

(Source: Terry Hastings, All Kids Count/Center for Innovation in Health Information Systems)

August 2001 SnapShots Headlines