Washington State Immunization Information System (WAIIS)

The Washington State Immunization Information System (WAIIS) is a statewide, lifetime immunization registry that tracks immunization records for people of all ages. The system is a secure, web-based tool for healthcare providers, healthcare organizations, health plans, and schools. It provides a free and user-friendly way for healthcare providers to keep immunization records up-to-date and to know which vaccines patients need. The WAIIS also gives providers tools for ordering state-supplied vaccines, managing vaccine inventory, running reports, and improving workflow.

The WAIIS is capable of exchanging immunization information with healthcare provider electronic health record systems (EHRs). The current standard for one-way and bi-directional interfaces is HL7 version 2.5.1, Release 1.5 (PDF). The State Health Information Exchange (HIE), OneHealthPort, is the preferred method for data exchange with the Department of Health. Message transport is available via https and web services.

If your organization/practice is not eligible for meaningful use or another EHR incentive program, you may still enroll in the WAIIS and work towards immunization data exchange with the WAIIS.

Please contact us at IISDataExchange@doh.wa.gov for more information.

Information for Eligible Providers and Hospitals

To participate as an eligible hospital or eligible provider you must have an Information Sharing Agreement with the WAIIS. In order to enroll in the WAIIS, you must have a licensed healthcare provider on staff, do business in Washington State, and provide immunization services. Immunization services include administering, referring, and reporting on immunizations.

Our policy is to execute WAIIS Information Sharing Agreements at the organization level. Check the to see if your organization has an information sharing agreement in place.

If you do not have an agreement in place, to begin the enrollment process, complete a WAIIS Information Sharing Agreement and follow the instructions on the form. Please note the enrollment/approval process may take several weeks to complete. You will not be able to register your intent for meaningful use or another EHR incentive program until after your agreement is processed.

Exclusions

You should not register intent to submit immunizations data for meaningful use or another EHR incentive program if your practice does not administer immunizations. The Office of Immunization and Child Profile does not grant exclusions or provide documentation to support exclusions.

Data Exchange Materials

The Washington State Immunization Information System (WAIIS) is a secure web-based tool developed and supported by Scientific Technologies Corporation (STC). The WAIIS supports bi-directional data exchange using Health Level 7 (HL7) messaging.

The following documents define the WAIIS HL7 data exchange standards:

CDC's HL7 2.5.1, Release 1.5 â- Implementation Guide for Immunization Messaging (PDF)
This standard defines the structure and content for immunization messages, and how to report to immunization information systems.
CDC's HL7 Version 2.5.1 Implementation Guide for Immunization Messaging Release 1.5-Addendum (PDF)
This standard defines the structure and content for immunizations messages, and how to report to immunization information systems.
WAIIS HL7 Interface Project Guide (XSLM)
This guide outlines the WAIIS interface onboarding process and defines specific WAIIS requirements.
Please note: this file has macros enabled, which may cause a security warning even though the file is safe to download and view.
Transport of Immunization HL7 transactions over the Internet Using Secure HTTP (PDF)
This document discusses conventions that may be used to transport HL7 messages over the Internet using Secure HTTP (HTTPS).
Transport of Immunization HL7 transactions using SOAP Web Services
This website defines transport, security, and SOAP operations, parameters and faults for SOAP-based HL7 submission and queries.
OneHealthPort Connectivity Implementation Guide (PDF)
This document defines how to establish connectivity to the OneHealthPort HIE to securely exchange clinical, public health reporting, and administrative information with the Department of Health.

Adding New Facilities to an Existing Interface

We require new facilities to test their interface in our QA (test) system using production data before they actually begin submitting data in the production WAIIS. This testing helps to ensure quality data is submitted and, for Vaccines for Children (VFC) providers, helps to ensure successful inventory management of state-supplied vaccine. The document explains the process we use to add a new facility to an existing interface.