General Description

This workflow describes how EHRs and other clinical software systems use information to assist with managing groups (cohorts) of patients.  While there are many examples of cohorts, common ones include those who received vaccines which were later recalled, those who may be overdue for immunizations, and those who are up-to-date with immunizations, and many others.

Requirements Within this Workflow

6.1: Produce Population-Level Report

6.2: Notify Patients of Immunization Status

Who Performs This Workflow

• Clinicians (physicians, nurses, and other personnel who assist with providing immunizations)

Examples of Work Related to this Workflow

• Health care providers need to evaluate how well they deliver care and how their patients are progressing. Providers with the ability to assess their own performance can institute improvements that result in better scores when they are reviewed by external organizations.
• One such external review is CDC’s Assessment, Feedback, Incentives and eXchange (AFIX) program.^[1] The program includes assessment of the healthcare provider’s vaccination coverage levels and immunization practices, feedback of results to providers with recommended quality improvement strategies, incentives to recognize and reward improved performance, and exchange of information with providers to follow up on their progress to improve immunization services and coverage levels. All public vaccine providers have an AFIX assessment and many public health registries (IIS) support this functionality. The independence of the health department service helps to ensure accuracy of the results.

[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overview of AFIX. 11 March 2014. Web. 10 April 2014. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/afix/index.html. Accessed 9 December 2014.