Giuseppe
Emeritus
[Source: Eurosurveillance, full text: (LINK). Abstract, edited.]
L K Chin (
)<SUP>1</SUP>, N W Crawford<SUP>2</SUP><SUP>,3</SUP><SUP>,4</SUP>, G Rowles<SUP>5</SUP>, J P Buttery<SUP>1</SUP><SUP>,2</SUP><SUP>,3</SUP><SUP>,6</SUP>
Citation style for this article: Chin LK, Crawford NW, Rowles G, Buttery JP. Australian immunisation registers: established foundations and opportunities for improvement . Euro Surveill. 2012;17(16)
ii=20148. Available online: http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=20148
Date of submission: 30 September 2011 <HR>The National Immunisation Program Schedule in Australia is formulated and funded nationally under the population-wide Medicare system. The policy is implemented by the eight state and territory jurisdictions. The national immunisation registers consist of the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR), and, more recently, the National Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Program Register. Moreover, a variety of jurisdiction-based registers and primary care practice software systems exist, which interact with the national registers. General practitioners can obtain reports listing patients under seven years attending their practice and recorded as ?not fully immunised?, and immunisation coverage rates for their practice linked to government incentives through Medicare. A 2011 report documents national coverage of 91.8% fully immunised at 12 months, and 92.6% at 24 months. The HPV register provides information on vaccination coverage with the potential to link with a register of cervical cancer screening results. Limitations of current national register include inability to easily access immunisation histories beyond seven years of age, and issues of underreporting and timeliness, which impact significantly the immunisation coverage estimates. The linkage of these registers with healthcare outcome data will further enhance public health outcomes by enabling rapid, population-level vaccine safety and effectiveness investigations in a nation with a track record as an ?early adopter? of new childhood vaccines.
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Eurosurveillance, Volume 17, Issue 16, 19 April 2012
Perspectives
Australian immunisation registers: established foundations and opportunities for improvement
Perspectives
Australian immunisation registers: established foundations and opportunities for improvement
L K Chin (
- Infectious Diseases Unit, Monash Children?s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
- Surveillance of Adverse Events Following Vaccination In the Community (SAEFVIC), Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Australia
- Department of General Medicine, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Riddell Country Practice, Riddells Creek, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne, Australia
Citation style for this article: Chin LK, Crawford NW, Rowles G, Buttery JP. Australian immunisation registers: established foundations and opportunities for improvement . Euro Surveill. 2012;17(16)
ii=20148. Available online: http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=20148 Date of submission: 30 September 2011 <HR>The National Immunisation Program Schedule in Australia is formulated and funded nationally under the population-wide Medicare system. The policy is implemented by the eight state and territory jurisdictions. The national immunisation registers consist of the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR), and, more recently, the National Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Program Register. Moreover, a variety of jurisdiction-based registers and primary care practice software systems exist, which interact with the national registers. General practitioners can obtain reports listing patients under seven years attending their practice and recorded as ?not fully immunised?, and immunisation coverage rates for their practice linked to government incentives through Medicare. A 2011 report documents national coverage of 91.8% fully immunised at 12 months, and 92.6% at 24 months. The HPV register provides information on vaccination coverage with the potential to link with a register of cervical cancer screening results. Limitations of current national register include inability to easily access immunisation histories beyond seven years of age, and issues of underreporting and timeliness, which impact significantly the immunisation coverage estimates. The linkage of these registers with healthcare outcome data will further enhance public health outcomes by enabling rapid, population-level vaccine safety and effectiveness investigations in a nation with a track record as an ?early adopter? of new childhood vaccines.