IIS Interoperability Status Check 2013
Project Announcement
From: Gary Urquhart
To: NCIRD Immunization Grantee Mailbox (CDC)
Subject: IIS Interoperability Status Check ProjectDear IIS Colleagues:
Actual implementation of the CDC HL7 Implementation Guide by IIS can vary based on different interpretations and jurisdictional requirements. This makes it challenging for electronic health record (EHR) vendors and developers, many of whom must work in multiple states, to create a standard interface with all IIS. In addition, these differences are difficult to see at first and can only be determined after attempting to interface.
To help address this, the Immunization Information System Support Branch (IISSB) at the CDC has initiated the IIS Interoperability Status Check Project. The purpose of this project is to submit the seven National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) Certification Version 2 test messages against IIS to identify messaging issues that could affect interoperability. It will give a chance for the IIS to get early feedback and address technical issues. A similar effort was conducted by Indian Health Services earlier this year and provided valuable data.
The information gathered from all IIS jurisdictions will establish a comprehensive resource to benefit various members of the immunization community. These community benefits include:
- Reduction of interface development time
- Better accommodation of varying message specifications
- More effective updates to the CDC HL7 Implementation Guide
- Documentation of specific IIS requirements to aid vendors in meeting Meaningful Use standards
Each IIS jurisdiction that participates in this project will receive a report providing useful data on any issues associated with their messaging standards and a quality assurance analysis of their local documentation. This report can be expected within one month of their project engagement.
There is no cost for an IIS to participate in this effort. The work will be completed in the order that IIS volunteer, on a first-come first-serve basis, and must be completed within the period of a month. All project work will be concluded on or before March 31, 2013. We anticipate that the IIS engagement and work level for this effort will be at most a couple of hours per week, usually even less.
If you are interested in participating in this important initiative, please contact Jennifer Wain.
Project Process
The status check project is focused on checking to see how IIS support the 7 NIST test messages that EHR's will be required to create as part of certification for Meaningful Use 2.
The process is very simple, the team obtains access to the IIS interface and submits the messages one at a time. If a message is rejected, it is changed according to the IIS specification until the message is accepted. Every change made is documented in an IIS report which is shared back with the IIS.
If the IIS does not have a real-time interface that can be used for this project then the IIS is given a word document that guides them through a self status check.
Self Status Check
The self status check document includes the original NIST messages and instructions on how to perform the status check. The entire status check process should take less than an hour to complete.