Costs of immunization registries: experiences from the All Kids Count II Projects

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Informatics
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Immunization registries are crucial for maintaining high vaccination coverage rates in preschool children.
• Long-term sustainability of these registries necessitates understanding their operational costs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the annual cost per child for operating immunization registries.
• To project a national figure for registry operation costs and identify potential cost offsets.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from 16 All Kids Count (AKC) II projects, representing developed U.S. registry initiatives.
• Projection of national operating costs and comparison with potential cost-saving measures.

Main Results:

• The average annual cost per child for fully operational registries is $3.91.
• Cost per child ranged from $1.60 to $6.23, with an interquartile range of $2.91 to $4.81.

Conclusions:

• An estimated $78.2 million is required annually to maintain a nationwide network of registries for children aged 0-5.
• Identified cost offsets, including streamlined record retrieval and reduced survey burdens, total an estimated $113.8 million annually.