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Why Casetivity-IIS is the Ideal Replacement for Legacy IIS: A Comprehensive Comparison

Posted on August 26th, 2024   |   SSG
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For over 20 years, the legacy immunization information systems such as Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR) have been a valuable tool for immunization tracking. However, the evolving landscape of public health presents new challenges that demand a more robust, efficient, and flexible immunization surveillance platform. Below, we make the case for facing these challenges with Casetivity-IIS — a versatile enterprise platform built for public health by experts in public health.

The Need for an Improved Surveillance Platform

Since its launch in 2000, systems such as WIR have been instrumental in tracking vaccination data and gathering vital records from healthcare providers to help facilitate public health initiatives. However, the continued digitization of electronic health records (EHRs) has brought to the forefront several challenges and limitations, including:

  • Outdated user interface
  • Data management capabilities
  • Limited reporting tools 

More importantly, integration issues and the limitations of WIR’s compatibility with other health systems and EHRs have become apparent. According to a report published by the American Immunization Registry Association (AIRA), the transition from manual entry to data exchange created new challenges to maintaining WIR data quality (AIRA, 2016).  

While still functional at the base level, the evolving nature of public health requires information management systems that can adapt to emerging challenges and opportunities. Innovative platforms allow public health departments to do their jobs more efficiently and effectively to serve their communities better and improve public health outcomes. 

Introducing Casetivity

Since 2003, SSG has been on a mission to modernize public health. This pursuit has led to Casetivity — a public health case management software designed to automate essential workflows in public health organizations and transform how they manage and execute their programs. While it is built as an enterprise platform, Casetivity can be easily configured for various applications across multiple teams and domains within a jurisdiction’s public health department.  

The core Casetivity platform contains a configurable module suite and dashboards for records management, data cleansing, reporting, and enterprise integration and interoperability, among other functionalities essential for modern public health agencies. These modules allow our customers to rapidly build, adapt, and modify applications to meet the changing needs and challenges of the public health landscape, leaving behind the current technology headaches often experienced today. 

Currently, there are dozens of public health agencies utilizing Casetivity’s out-of-the-box configurations for:

  • Immunization Registries: Our Immunization Information System (IIS) helps public health agencies manage vaccination data more efficiently, maintaining comprehensive and up-to-date immunization records in a centralized database for easy access to accurate patient information. Our IIS reduces administrative burden so healthcare providers can focus more on patient care. 
  • Disease Surveillance: Our disease surveillance module helps public health organizations, medical providers, and epidemiologists to collect, monitor, and share information during an infectious disease outbreak. The system can securely track patients across all major disease categories, including COVID-19, measles, tuberculosis, Ebola, Zika, HIV/STDs, and influenza.  
  • Early Childhood Intervention Part C: This module facilitates efficient data collection and management, including test scores, progress reports, physician notes, and engagement metrics. The system also helps ensure compliance with federal reporting requirements, helping state and local agencies meet Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C guidelines. 

You can configure Casetivity to support any public health service or program, such as lead poisoning prevention and vital records management,  while streamlining operations, improving data quality, and lowering the total cost of ownership. 

Comparison: Casetivity vs. WIR

The rise of digital health technologies, increased data volumes, and the demand for real-time analytics have highlighted the necessity for more robust public health surveillance platforms. Below, we delve into the primary functionalities organizations need in software for public health, highlighting why Casetivity stands out as the superior choice for modern public health agencies.

  • Interoperability: A built-in module within the Casetivity platform, SSG’s Immunization Information System (IIS) features a standards-based API (Application Programming Interface), ensuring consistency, compatibility, and interoperability across different software systems while facilitating data exchange, feature sharing, and functionality integration. This architecture allows our IIS to integrate with various healthcare information systems, creating a unified healthcare ecosystem where immunization data can flow effortlessly across different platforms. 
  • Comprehensive data management: Casetivity provides a centralized database consolidating relevant immunization data from various sources. This feature ensures that all data is stored securely and can be accessed by authorized personnel when needed. More importantly, the system’s robust data management capabilities include data validation and cleaning processes, which are crucial for maintaining high data quality standards. 
  • Data security and privacy: In addition to encryption and multi-factor authentication, Casetivity incorporates comprehensive access controls to manage who can view or modify public health records. These controls are fully compliant with regulatory requirements and security standards, such as HL7 and HIPAA. Compliance with HL7 (Health Level Seven International) standards facilitates seamless and secure data exchange between various healthcare systems. 
  • Real-time reporting and analytics: Casetivity provides user-friendly dashboards and pre-built reports. These features enable public health agencies to easily identify trends and measure program effectiveness. These features foster an environment where data-driven decisions fuel improved public health outcomes. 

In addition, Casetivity’s interface is designed with user experience in mind. It features intuitive navigation, customizable dashboards, and streamlined data entry forms, making it significantly easier to use than traditional EHRs.

Success Stories and Testimonials

Since 2003, SSG has worked with dozens of states and municipalities to improve their workflows, data management, and IT systems implementation and operation. Our solution suite for public health is dramatically transforming how these organizations manage and execute their programs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MPDH) sought a way to provide consumers access to their vaccination records securely and efficiently. 

The state looked for a solution that could:

  • Handle large volumes of requests from the public without crashing.
  • Provide secure access while complying with HIPAA and other regulations. 
  • Integrate with the existing Massachusetts Immunization Information System (MIIS). 

In January 2022, SSG and the MPDH launched My Vax Records – a website that gave residents access to their complete immunization records, including COVID-19 vaccinations and other vaccines provided across different locations, from their mobile devices. Less than 24 hours after the launch, 265,000 individuals successfully accessed their records, covering 4% of Massachusetts’ population. 

My Vax Records is just a glimpse into the comprehensive capabilities of Casetivity in addressing the complexities of modern immunization management. Elaborates SSG CEO John Schaeffer, “These tools are significant advancements in the modernization of public health business process administration.” By streamlining the work associated with tracking, reporting, and administration, public health organizations can devote more time to treating patients, expanding vaccinations, and making our communities safer (Business Wire, 2021).”  

Cost and Value Proposition

While the upfront cost of implementing Casetivity may be higher than maintaining the Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR), the versatility of SSG’s public health software brings high-impact benefits that justify the investment. Its modular architecture allows public health agencies to tailor Casetivity to their specific organizational needs. They can choose the modules that align with their workflows and requirements and add, remove, or modify components to adapt to evolving public health initiatives. 

For example, you can enhance the system with our external IIS onboarding module to make account creation and data connections with various health information systems quick and easy. This reduces manual work associated with processing onboarding requests and minimizes information bottlenecks. 

This modular design simplifies training and support. Staff can be trained on specific modules relevant to their roles, reducing the complexity and duration of training programs. This also makes support and troubleshooting more straightforward, as issues can be isolated and resolved without impacting the entire system. 

How to Transition from WIR to Casetivity

Here’s an overview of how SSG can help your organization migrate to Casetivity:

  • Assessment and planning: We thoroughly assess current systems and processes to identify the right solutions suite. We will also help you customize Casetivity to meet your organization’s specific needs.
  • Data migration: We will develop a comprehensive data migration plan to ensure a smooth transition to Casetivity while complying with all relevant data privacy and security regulations. 
  • Implementation and testing: After the initial implementation, SSG will conduct thorough testing to ensure your workflows are properly functioning within Casetivity.

Throughout the process, SSG will provide detailed training to familiarize authorized users with Casetivity and offer continuous support as needed. 

Are you ready to experience a platform designed with your organization’s needs in mind? To request a demo or speak to one of our experts, visit the SSG request a public health software demo page today. 

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