Increasing provider participation in NJIIS (New Jersey Immunization Information System)

Background: By two years of age, over 20% of the children in the U.S. have seen more than one healthcare provider, resulting in scattered paper medical records. Immunization information systems such as NJIIS help providers and families by consolidating immunization information into one reliable source. They also save money and improve office efficiency.

Objective: To assess what aspects of the NJIIS registry appeal to health care providers and what messages will help increase provider participation on NJIIS. Methods: An online survey was distributed to gather input from healthcare providers participating in NJIIS and user experience feedback was obtained during quarterly user group meetings. The response rate for the survey was 21%.

Results: The survey results indicated that the most common use of NJIIS is to create a record when vaccines are given to children (83.8%) and to consolidate the child's immunization history into a single record (70.3%) was the second most common use of NJIIS. Respondents were also asked to indicate how important specific factors were in their decision to participate in NJIIS. The majority of respondents identified the following factors that affected their decision making: 57% of providers felt that the State law mandating participation was an important factor, 71% of respondents felt that the need to record and monitor immunizations was a significant factor, 60 % respondents liked the ease of using NJIIS and 46 % of users liked the free trainings and technical assistance provided by NJIIS. SWOT Analysis was conducted based on the survey response and marketing messages were tested at the user group meeting.

Conclusions: Introduce providers to the benefits of NJIIS and have them learn best practices of NJIIS which include, printing the official immunization letter, provide real time clinical immunizations and vaccine recommendations, online vaccine ordering, manage inventory online.