Dear Colleague:

I am pleased to inform you the West Virginia Statewide Immunization Information System (WVSIIS) is now operational. Careful planning and consideration has been given to provide a registry that will allow users to ensure that all children are protected against vaccine preventable diseases. All county health departments are now utilizing WVSIIS, and there are 900,000 records in the registry. We are pleased with the momentum of this program and are now ready to expand the system by enrolling private provider clinics.

All providers need to contribute data in order to assure the registry is complete. I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that the 1999 Legislature passed Legislative Rule 64CSR7, Reportable Disease Legislative Rule, which requires health care providers to report to this registry. As stated in the legislation, "provider of facility administering immunizations shall report immunizations administered to the centralized registry as required by this rule."

Members of the WVSIIS team will be contacting your office in the near future to enroll with WVSIIS. At that time, you will be provided with information regarding the registry, how to enroll, and training will be scheduled. Following is a list of WVSIIS components:

• •Information is confidential.
• •Has a secure system design.
• •Allows providers to access the registry for past immunization history.
• •Provides an electronic immunization record.
• •Recommends appropriate immunization(s) schedule.
• •Maintains a vaccine inventory and reports usage by category.
• •Provides reminder recall postcards.
• •Provides electronic clinic assessment software for coverage rates.
• •In the future, schools and day cares may access and obtain immunization history.

You may be using a billing system to submit your third party billings electronically. The WVSIIS implementation team is working with those vendors to create export files to utilize your billing information for the registry. This will eliminate the need for your staff to enter data in the billing system and in the registry. We are using this approach to save you time and costs in your clinic. If you do not use an electronic billing system, the Department of Health and Human Resources will provide the software for your clinic free of charge.


Recent studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other states have documented that parents trust their provider's advice. If providers promote the need of the registry program, parents will want their child's record in WVSIIS. By working together, we will improve the health of West Virginia's children by protecting them against vaccine preventable diseases.


We are pleased WVSIIS is now ready for your use, and look forward to working with you as the system is implemented for all providers statewide. If you have further questions regarding WVSIIS, please call 1-877-408-8930, or locally at (304) 558-2188.

 

Sincerely,

Henry G. Taylor, M.D., M.P.H.

Commissioner