- What is the Immunization Information System?
- How does it work?
- How does the System help my patients?
- Who uses the System?
- What is the School Module and how does it impact my work?
- Is the data in the System secure and protected?
- What if one of my patients wants to opt out of the System?
What is the Washington State Immunization Information System?
The Washington State Immunization Information System (IIS) is a secure, web-based tool that helps healthcare providers keep track of their patients' immunizations. The immunization records in the system remain available when families move or change providers. The system helps providers:
- Keep immunization records up-to-date and view immunizations given by other providers.
- Identify which vaccines patients need.
- Print immunization records for parents (including the Certificate of Immunization Status)
- Create reminder/recall lists of patients past-due for vaccines.
- Order vaccines, manage inventory, run reports, and improve clinic workflows.
How does it work?
Patient information from the public portion of the state birth certificate is automatically entered into the Immunization Information System (IIS). Healthcare providers can add information to the system as the patient is immunized.
How does the system help my patients?
The IIS helps assure timely and complete immunizations. Parents can also get their kids' immunization records more easily when they need them, such as in an emergency, if they move, or when they change providers.
Who uses the system?
About 2,100 partner health organizations participate and exchange data with the IIS. This includes most of Washington's major health plans, the state Medicaid program, local health departments, community and migrant health centers, and many private healthcare providers.
What is the School Module and how does it impact my work?
The School Module is a portal to the IIS that is designed for school level immunization work. It is a free, secure, and easy-to-use web-based tool that allows users to track and manage student and school-level immunization information. With the School Module, schools can access existing immunization records in the IIS entered by healthcare providers. This gives schools the information they need to conduct important immunization work.
Is the data in the system secure and protected?
Providers, health plans, and other covered entities may disclose protected health information to the IIS without patient authorization since the disclosure is allowed as a public health activity related to controlling or preventing disease. Although the HIPAA privacy rule doesn't directly apply to the IIS, the Department of Health intends to comply with the spirit of the rule. In accordance with RCW 70.02, Washington's Health Care Information Access and Disclosure Act, individually identified data will only be disclosed for the purpose of facilitating healthcare or conducting public health activities to prevent or control disease.
Only participating healthcare providers can view records in the Immunization Information System. Participation in the system is HIPAA compliant.
- All data is user name and password protected.
- Passwords must meet certain standards.
- Passwords expire and must be changed every three months.
- All communication between the user's internet browser and the Immunization Information System database server is encrypted using 128-bit encryption.
- The application servers and databases live in a physically-protected environment within the Washington State Department of Information Services on a protected network.
- The application is protected by a series of firewalls.
What if one of my patients wants to opt out of the Immunization Information System or the Child Profile Health Promotion mailings?
The IIS's Operations Guidance on Confidentiality states that each parent or patient has the right to not participate in the IIS or get Child Profile Health Promotion mailings.
Opting out of the Child Profile Health Promotion mailings:
If a parent or patient wants to opt out, please share the Welcome to Child Profile (PDF) brochure with them and explain the benefits of their participation in IIS. If they still want to opt out, print out the Parent/Guardian Request to Decline Participation letter and form - English (PDF) or (WAIIS) Lo que Necesita Saber Antes de Elegir no Participar - Español (PDF) for them to complete.
Opting out of the IIS:
If an adult patient wants to opt out of the IIS, print out the Request to Decline Participation letter and form - English (PDF) or (WAIIS) Lo que Necesita Saber Antes de Elegir no Participar - Español (PDF) for them to complete.
NOTE: If you manually enter immunization records into the IIS, you will need to make a note in the patient's record that they have chosen to opt out. If you provide batch or real-time data to the IIS, the system will automatically block further entry of their records.
Please call the Office of Immunization and Child Profile at 1-866-397-0337 if you have any questions or need help deleting a record.