15 APRIL 2004

NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 42

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(A) ischaemic heart disease;
(B) congestive heart failure;
(C) rheumatic heart disease;
(D) congenital heart disease;
(E) cerebro-vascular disease.

(ii) chronic respiratory diseases, including:
(A) asthma, if on regular preventative therapy;
(B) all other chronic respiratory diseases with impaired lung function.

(iii) diabetes;

(iv) chronic renal disease;

(v) any malignancy but excluding basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma if the latter two are not invasive;

(vi) other conditions, including:
(A) auto-immune diseases;
(B) immunosuppression;
(C) HIV;
(D) transplant recipients;
(E) neuromuscular and CNS;
(F) haemoglobinopathies.

Patients with the following conditions are not eligible for fully subsidised influenza vaccination:
(a) Asthma not requiring regular preventative therapy;
(b) Hypertension and/or dyslipidaemia without evidence of end-organ disease;
(c) Pregnancy in the absence of another risk factor.

Appendix 2 of Schedule 3

REFERENCE DOCUMENT

NATIONAL IMMUNISATION REGISTER REQUIREMENTS

1.0 Increasing immunisation coverage in order to prevent vaccine preventable diseases is the highest priority of the National Immunisation Programme. The development of a national immunisation register to record individual immunisation histories and produce accurate population-based coverage reports is a strategy supported by evidence and international practice. Although many health providers in New Zealand have developed information systems to keep track of the immunisations given to their patients, these local systems do not interconnect or provide the benefits of a national register.

1.1 The National Immunisation Register (NIR) will allow querying of the database for an individual’s immunisation status, providing accurate immunisation status of an individual and aiding opportunistic immunisation. The NIR will assist providers in referral to immunisation facilitation and outreach services for children that are not found by general practitioner recall systems. It will provide accurate immunisation coverage data at the local provider (PHO), District Health Board and national levels.

1.2 The requirements for data reporting to the NIR have been previously outlined in the PHO “Access” and “Interim” agreements 2002-3 (see I8, Reporting Requirements). The Section 88 Notice to General Practitioners concerning Patient Benefits and Other Subsidies (Schedule 3) also states that providers should report data to a national register in an “agreed and notified format”. The required changes outlined in this reference document specify the data and format(s) required for PHOs to meet this previously agreed position.

1.3 The NIR design is based on messaging of data from primary care Practice Management Systems (PMS) to the NIR, so that data flows electronically when entered/downloaded after each vaccination event. Access to/use of the NIR is also possible via web browser and the Health Intranet. Manual (paper/fax) processes are in place to enable providers to report data to the NIR who do not have compatible PMS or health intranet access. The primary care provider will be required to send immunisation event data to the NIR for each registered individual, in addition to demographic and vaccinator information (see data table appended).

1.4 For practices with NIR compatible PMS, immunisation information will be sent automatically to the NIR by electronic messaging. There are five PMS that the NIR project team is currently negotiating with to upgrade their systems to meet the data and messaging requirements of the NIR system (see Table 1).

1.5 All PMS messaging to the NIR require approval by the Ministry of Health and must meet the NIR user requirements, messaging and data standards, and Ministry testing protocols.

TABLE 1: PMS systems