Cost Savings Associated With Using Immunization Information Systems for Vaccines for Children Administrative Tasks

Abstract

r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r O ur objective was to investigate the potential cost savings of immunization information systems (IIS) in performing some administrative tasks associated with the federal Vaccines for Children (VFC) program at the state and practice levels. VFC is an entitlement program providing free vaccine to eligible children. We timed the staff of the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) and 72 private VFC practices for administrative VFC-related tasks from September 2003 through March 2004. Time measurements included time for practices to produce VFC reports and for UDOH staff to assess practice coverage levels and process VFC reports manually or via the Utah Statewide Immunization Information System (USIIS). Median cost savings to the state health department could be as much as $11 740 annually. Utah VFC practices could save up to a maximum of $446 annually per practice by using USIIS for VFC tasks. If applied to the 218 enrolled private practices statewide, this would result in a median total cost savings of $17 615 ($15 519 for reports and $2 096 for pulling medical charts).

Measuring value for money: a scoping review on economic evaluation of health information systems

“…Of these, six were cost-benefit analyses,22 32 38 40 51 52 two were cost-effectiveness analyses,33 55 two were cost-consequence analyses,42 47 one was a cost-minimization analysis,34 and one was a cost-utility analysis 41. Sixteen papers addressed cost-related outcomes18 20 21 24 25 29 35–37 44–46 48 53 54 57 and five looked solely at input costs 417 26 27 43…”

“…17 24–27 33–36 40 43 46–48 52 53 57 The clearest comparisons among alternatives or options were with-without system or pre-post intervention. These were in 1618 22 24 25 33–36 41 43 44 46 48 52 53 55 and nine papers,26 37 38 40 42 45–47 57 respectively.…”

“…Cost accounting was the most common method used and included incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER), return on investment, payback, net present value, net benefit, operating margin,22 32 33 38 40 42 47 51 52 55 least cost, average cost, and cost savings 417 18 21 25 34–37 44 46 48 53 54 Most papers used historical costs to estimate future outcomes for a specified time period 2025 27 29 35–37 41 42 44–46 48 53 54 57 The methods of estimation included linear and logistic regression,24 25 45 46 53 scenarios,4 26 43 and a general/linear model 35…”

“…25 27 29 35–37 41 42 44–46 48 53 54 57 The methods of estimation included linear and logistic regression,24 25 45 46 53 scenarios,4 26 43 and a general/linear model 3536 37 Many adjusted for inflation,4 17 18 22 27 33 41 42 51 52 discounting,17 32 33 40 41 43 52 55 and amortization/depreciation 3334 40 51 Some papers used statistical methods to test for differences among groups that included the t test,29 37 47 53 57 χ 2 test,57 and analysis of variance 37…”

Evaluation of the frequency of immunization information system use for public health research

“…4,5 In addition to improved vaccination coverage, there are other important outcomes of IIS use, such as cost savings, generating vaccination recall notices, vaccination reminders and providing official vaccination history forms for use in meeting school entry immunization requirements. 6 IIS are especially useful because they provide populationbased data and thus are less prone to bias introduced by only including people who are able to seek out medical services, 7 though the extent to which this bias is reduced depends on the completeness of provider participation in the IIS. Such reduction of bias makes IIS data a valuable research tool for creating new immunization schedule recommendations, 2 or monitoring the impact of vaccine shortages.…”