Overview

In light of the findings of the environmental scan, the HITO with the support of Health IT Advisory Council agreed to the formation of a time-limited, multi-stakeholder design group to provide recommendations and a clear pathway to not only support the implementation of the DPH IIS plans, but to help ensure the alignment of the anticipated implementation of a new IIS system with the current HIE planning to support interoperability between providers, health care organizations, CIRTS, and a future statewide HIE entity.

The purpose of this design group was:

1. To familiarize the members with the high-level functional standards of an IIS based on the current and anticipated CDC functional standards and the work DPH has already completed to identify use cases, existing gaps, existing and future functionality, and proposed implementation timelines. This will give the group a baseline of knowledge about the IIS, DPH mandates and uses of the IIS, and current and future functional requirements. 
2. With that foundation, the design group will identify any additional stakeholder needs for the IIS and determine the prioritization those needs. This will allow DPH to create or enhance the appropriate use cases and business requirements in the new IIS implementation. In addition, the group will define the high-level stakeholder needs for how the IIS would become a sustainable, efficient, and shared statewide health-IT enabled solution. This design group will focus on the needs of DPH, consumers, and providers to support all relevant activities with immunizations and identify any technical assistance needed by providers and DPH to successfully implement electronic reporting to the IIS.     
3. The Design Group will review a high-level timeline and action plan that incorporates the identified needs of all stakeholders to be considered for the new IIS implementation.
4. The Design Group Recommendations will identify any additional follow-up activities.

More information regarding the process and charge of this design group can be found in the project charter, here.