The American Immunization Registry Association’s (AIRA) National Meeting is an annual event that attracts Immunization Information Systems (IIS) subject matter experts from across the country. In lieu of an in-person gathering, this year AIRA is hosting an 8-week long webinar series from August through September. Below is a summary of the presentation shared by Audacious Inquiry’s (Ai’s) Immunization (IZ) Gateway team members on August 11, which highlights why IIS is more critical than ever as the country prepares for COVID-19 mass vaccination efforts.
Who is participating in the IZ Gateway?
Since 2013, Ai has supported IIS projects focused on increasing access to complete and accurate immunization records for consumers and provider organizations. Ai serves as a primary contractor on the IZ Gateway portfolio, which is a centralized technical infrastructure that facilitates the flow of immunization data to IIS and providers. The project is sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and led by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Chief Technology Officer.
Throughout the United States, there are sixty-four different IIS serving states, cities, and territories. The IZ Gateway supports the exchange of immunization data between IIS, provider organizations, and consumer applications. It can streamline time and resource-intensive onboarding, especially for provider organizations that administer vaccines in multiple states.
How will the IZ-Gateway support efforts to fight COVID-19?
The IZ Gateway will support COVID-19 mass vaccination clinical workflows and decision-making. The project team will onboard non-traditional vaccinators (such as Skilled Nursing Facilities and the Federal Bureau of Prisons) that do not typically submit and/or query for vaccination data to the IZ Gateway.
The following components of exchange supported by the IZ Gateway’s centralized infrastructure will help to ensure complete and accurate tracking of the COVID-19 vaccine:
IZ Gateway Connect
- Enables large national and non-traditional vaccinators to report and query immunization data with multiple IISs using the IZ Gateway
- Provides a centralized data exchange connection so multi-jurisdiction provider organizations have one connection instead of multiple, individual, point-to-point IIS connections
IZ Gateway Share
- Allows exchange of immunization information across IIS jurisdictions
- Automates messages to an IIS for patients immunized outside of their jurisdiction
Provider-initiated Multi-jurisdictional Data Exchange
- Allows providers to initiate a query for vaccine information from multiple jurisdictions and receive a consolidated record
Access
- Enables consumer access to online immunization records and forecasts through easy-to-use digital tools
How does the IZ Gateway work?
The IZ Gateway is a centralized technical infrastructure that supports bi-directional exchange of immunization data.
To learn more about the IZ Gateway, check out this recent USA Today article: When there’s a coronavirus vaccine, how will we make sure everybody gets it? That’s the job of state immunization registries
For additional information, please contact izgateway@cdc.gov.
![Kelly Headshot](https://ainq.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Carulli_Kelly.jpg")
Kelly Carulli | Director
Kelly Carulli is a Director with Audacious inquiry (Ai) providing management support to the CDC/HHS funded Immunization Gateway Portfolio. In her role at Ai, Kelly manages projects focused on interoperability, data quality, patient matching, and authentication. Prior to joining Ai in 2015, Kelly spent five years at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Office of Oral Health.