Immunization Registries – HLN Consulting, LLC

HLN Releases Update to its Award Winning Open Source Immunization Forecaster

by Noam Arzton March 11, 2019

On March 7, 2019, HLN released a new version (v1.16.1) of the Immunization Calculation Engine (ICE). ICE is a state-of-the-art open-source software system that provides clinical decision support for immunizations for use in Immunization Information Systems (IIS), Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Personal Health Record (PHR) Systems.

This version includes:

DTP Vaccine Group: Added an update to the “Six by Seven” rule to explicitly state that duplicate shots on the same day do not count towards this rule. The intention of this change is to prevent potentially “bad data” that may be passed into the ICE service from affecting the forecast result.
Hib Vaccine Group: Improved handling of duplicate shots administered on the same day. For details, please refer to the Two Shots, Same Vaccine Group, Same Day Exception Rules page.
Minor logic changes to the Meningococcal B, Polio, Rotavirus and Pneumococcal vaccine groups.

HLN recently demonstrated ICE integrated into two EHRs at the HIMSS19 Interoperability Showcase starting in February in Orlando, FL.

The full software release is available for download at https://cdsframework.atlassian.net/wiki/display/ICE/Downloads. A revised ICE Implementation Guide is also available.

See the feature article about ICE in Open Health News.

GAO Report on Patient Matching: Nothing New Under the Sun

by Noam Arzton February 24, 2019

On January 15, 2019 the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report to Congress, Health Information Technology: Approaches and Challenges to Electronically Matching Patients’ Records across Providers. This report is in response to mandate in the 21st Century Cures Act for the GAO to study patient matching. To develop this report, GAO reviewed available literature and interviewed more than thirty-five stakeholders (who are not identified) over the course of a year.

I have written several blogs and a feature article on patient matching developments in the US. Similarly, this new GAO report is an excellent retrospective on industry efforts over the past several years. It includes a clear statement of the problem, good discussion on both barriers and progress to date, insights from the stakeholders interviewed on their practical issues, and a review of various initiatives by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) over the past several years. The footnotes alone are worth the read as they contain excellent sources and side comments.

HLN Releases New Version of its Award Winning Open Source Immunization Forecaster

by Noam Arzton February 4, 2019

On February 1, 2019, HLN released a new version (v1.15.1) of the Immunization Calculation Engine (ICE). ICE is a state-of-the-art open-source software system that provides clinical decision support for immunizations for use in Immunization Information Systems (IIS), Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Personal Health Record (PHR) Systems.

This version includes a new 2-dose Adult Series in the Hep B vaccine group with support for the HEPLISAV-B vaccine and logic updates and fixes to the Meningococcal B, HPV, Influenza, Polio and DTP vaccine groups. A revised ICE Implementation Guide (v3r1; and v3r1 with changes highlighted since version 1.14.1) includes a new evaluation reason: SELECT_ADJUVANT_PRODUCT_INTERVAL.

HLN will be demonstrating ICE integrated into two EHRs at the HIMSS19 Interoperability Showcase starting on February 12 in Orlando, FL.

The full software release is available for download at https://cdsframework.atlassian.net/wiki/display/ICE/Downloads.

See Press Release.

See the feature article about ICE in Open Health News.

HLN to Participate in HIMSS19 Interoperability Showcase

by Noam Arzton January 16, 2019

For the third straight year, HLN Consulting will participate in the Interoperability Showcase at this year’s HIMSS19 Global Conference and Exhibition which is being held in Orlando, FL from February 11-15, 2019. The Showcase itself runs on February 12-14. This year HLN will participate in two use cases:

Immunization Integration & CDS: HLN’s award-winning ICE Immunization Evaluation and Forecasting System will be featured supporting two different EHRs as a sample patient moves through a scenario of lifelong immunizations.

Opioid Crisis, the Person & the Population: HLN’s Reportable Conditions Knowledge Management System (RCKMS) will be featured as the decision support component of electronic case reporting (eCR) in this scenario about drug overdose.

Come see us in Hall F, Booth 9100 at the Orange County Convention Center.

See full press release and the feature article about ICE in Open Health News!

AIRA 2018: Is Open Source the Key to IIS Sustainability?

by Noam Arzton August 20, 2018

Noam Arzt and Bill Brand engage in a “fireside chat”

On August 14-16, 2018 the American Immunization Registry Association (AIRA) held its 2018 National Meeting. This meeting brought together more than 350 informatics professionals, public health officials, EHR vendors, and other stakeholders who all care passionately about Immunization Information Systems (IIS) and their role in the healthcare community. IIS projects leverage interoperability with EHRs, PHRs, and other systems to promote clinical practice at the point of care; enable public health surveillance; and reduce cost by assisting in preventing both under and over immunization.Read More→