MONITORING CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATIONS - A CANADIAN APPROACH

In Manitoba, Canada, a centralized, computerized childhood immunizatio n monitoring system serves a population with insured medical coverage; each individual has a unique identification number. All physicians bi ll a single payer, and specific billing codes are used to identify imm unizations given by physicians and by public health nurses. Together w ith dates of service, this information is used to construct immunizati ons-to-dat and age-at-immunization profiles for individuals and groups . Reminders seeking missing information are built into the system and executed at strategic ages. The quality of input data has been assesse d as high. The approach could be used readily by health maintenance or ganizations in the United States.