Immunization Registry
Research
The Immunization Partnership conducted a well-regarded research project analyzing how laws and policies governing consumer access to immunization registries vary across states. All 50 states currently have immunization registries, but states greatly vary in the degree of access consumers have to the stored immunization records.
Researchers identified 34 jurisdictions with some type of law addressing consumer access to state immunization registry data. There was a distinct lack of organization or standardization to laws related to immunization registries across the states. As a result, TIP recommended the adoption of standardized legislation for direct consumer access to immunization registries in all states which have not done so to date. TIP also recommended the adoption of legislation that permits and promotes the use of technological mediums, such as mobile applications, to facilitate direct consumer access.
TIP presented the research at the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) Annual Meeting and Expo in Philadelphia in November 2019. This meeting is the largest and most influential annual gathering of public health professionals in the world, with nearly 13,000 attendees.
TIP's Registry History
TIP evolved from the former Houston-Harris County Immunization Registry (HHCIR) founded by the late Dr. Ralph Feigin, former Physician-in-Chief of Texas Children’s Hospital. From our legal incorporation in 2001 until 2006, HHCIR worked to build the registry capacity and enrollment for the Houston region. In 2006, HHCIR began bi-directional reporting of our data with the state’s registry, ImmTrac. In 2007, the HHCIR Board of Directors expanded our mission beyond the registry and adopted a new, but short-lived name, the Houston Area Immunization Partnership (HAIP). In 2009, the HAIP Board of Directors further expanded the mission and statewide scope of the organization and adopted The Immunization Partnership (TIP).
ImmTrac
Texas’ immunization registry, ImmTrac2, is an opt-in registry, meaning each person in the registry must fill out a consent form to participate.