Data-Driven Approach to Design an Efficient Mass Vaccination and Public Health Monitoring Informatics Platform

Documenting clients, screenings and vaccinations administered is of particular importance during mass vaccination, since information regarding uptake is critical for monitoring adverse effects and vaccine efficacy. This is especially essential when a newly-developed vaccine is being dispensed or when multiple doses of vaccine are needed per person. Despite these needs, there is no uniform or integrated system for effective vaccine data collection. This work focuses on modernizing public health infrastructure through informatics. In this paper, we describe and analyze five types of electronic technologies for registration and screening in vaccination clinics. We contrast their functionalities, usability and operations performance based on time-motion studies and service data collected during actual influenza vaccination campaigns. We evaluate their dispensing performance under an optimal dispensing clinic design. Our analysis shows that each of these electronic technologies can improve overall throughput by 16% to 45%. Based on our findings, we design a prototypical registration and screening system with integrated information flow that can be used for dispensing, monitoring and assessing mass vaccination. The system connects to the local Immunization Information System and electronic medical record systems. The design is flexible and adaptable for different types of medical countermeasures, and is suitable for regional public health departments. Our approach bridges research and public health informatics in a practical way, demonstrating how data can guide both system design and public health response planning.