Provider to IIS Interoperability (IZ Gateway) Project

In partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Audacious Inquiry is running a variety of projects to transform how immunization data is exchanged and improve the ability of patients to access their immunization data.

The Provider to IIS Interoperability Project is simplifying the process for public and private multistate provider organizations to send and receive immunization information with the appropriate immunization information system (IIS) without requiring provider organizations to create individual point-to-point connections with each IIS in the regions in which they operate.  The project leverages the IZ Gateway’s centralized technical infrastructure to allow provider organizations to connect once and route data to the right IIS.  The goal is to improve participation in IIS and the completeness of immunization information.

 

 

Through an initial proof-of-concept, the project team is exploring the advantages of a centralized connectivity infrastructure, how to streamline the onboarding process for provider organizations, improve data quality, and simplify the legal framework for immunization data exchange.  Proof-of-concept participants will be tracking a variety of measures to determine if these goals are met.  The proof-of-concept participants include Fond du Lac Human Services Division, DocStation (a pharmacy EHR), Minnesota IIS, and North Dakota IIS.  Following the proof-of-concept phase of the project, the team will implement pilots leveraging the lessons learned to further refine and streamline onboarding activities for provider organizations and IIS.

Technology Requirements:

Providers must:

• • Support HL7 2.5.1, release 1.5
  • Passes client-side certificates
  • Populate MSH segment with appropriate facility ID
  • Implement modified CDC WSDL

IIS must:

• • Support HL7 2.5.1, release 1.5
  • Use existing server-side certificate
  • Support single account for IZ Gateway
  • Recognize sender through MSH segments

∗No need to modify CDC WSDL

 

Program Requirements:

The Project Team must:

• • Ensure trading agreements
    • Near-term: Business Associate
    • Long-term: Public Health Agent
  • Support transformations form providers as needed
  • Support onboarding to avoid duplication of efforts

IIS must:

• • Accept Business Associate Agreement
  • Identify and support onboarding activities for centralization
  • Provide feedback on proof-of-concept activities

The Provider to IIS Interoperability Project includes an evaluation component to inform future pilot implementation. The team has identified the following intended outcomes for the project:

1. 1. Streamline IIS onboarding process for provider organizations and IIS
   2. Increase the number of vaccinations that are sent to a state IIS
   3. Improve data quality for immunization records
      • Improve completeness
      • Improve accuracy
      • Improve timeliness
   4. Demonstrate exchange of data from a provider organization to an IIS leveraging the IZ Gateway

In addition, the evaluation will include a cost and sustainability analysis to understand the effort of project team members and stakeholders in connecting provider organizations and IIS. This will be compared with other program efforts to determine the optimal approach for connectivity.

Interested project participants including technology vendors, provider organizations, and IIS may contact izgateway@cdc.gov.

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Kelly Carulli
Director | Audacious Inquiry

 

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