Covid vaccine IT systems need to be scaled-up

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

National IT systems needed to support the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine are not yet equipped to manage the scale of the programme, an Auditor-General’s report concludes. 

Published on May 18, Preparations for the nationwide roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine looks at how ready the health sector, led by the Ministry of Health, is to meet the Government’s goal of vaccinating as many people as possible, aged 16 and over, by the end of 2021.

Under the section titled ‘Developing fit-for-purpose information systems’, the report notes that in order to identify people to be vaccinated, and monitor and report on who is being vaccinated, the Ministry must have the right information technology systems in place.

It says a number of systems are needed to support the nationwide roll-out, including to record vaccine stock, identify where vaccines need to be delivered, and manage bookings for people to have vaccinations. 

These systems might also need to interact with each other and with other systems, such as patient management systems used by other health care providers.

“The Ministry has decided that these need to be national systems so that vaccine distribution, uptake, and possible safety issues can be centrally monitored,” the report says. 

Some of these systems are already in place, such as the national Covid-19 Immunisation Register and a national system for recording adverse reactions.

An inventory management system for Covid-19 vaccines went live in February and a national booking system is due to go-live soon.

“However, systems are not currently equipped to manage the scale of the immunisation programme,” the Auditor-General’s report says. 

“The existing systems will need to be significantly upgraded and, in some cases, new systems will need to be built. 

“All of these systems need to be ready as soon as possible, and before the roll-out to the general population. In the meantime, a range of workarounds are in place.” 

The report says the Ministry will need to work out if, when, and how it will transfer data collected in the early stages of the roll-out to the new systems when they come online.

The report also identifies gaps in the National Health Index (NHI), saying not all groups will be identifiable through NHI data. 

“The Ministry will need to decide whether, and how, it will supplement the National Health Index’s data so that it can identify certain communities to invite to be vaccinated and monitor uptake,” it says. 

“This is important to understand whether any overall goal for vaccination, as well as specific equity objectives, are being achieved.”

The Ministry of Health welcomed the recommendations in the report and says it is well positioned to implement the recommendations at pace.

“In its report, the Office of the Auditor General acknowledges that by undertaking this review at a comparatively early stage of the vaccination roll-out programme some of the overall findings or conclusions will have been overtaken by work the programme has since progressed,” a Ministry statement says.