Primary Care Impact

Improve recording and updating of immunisation data to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR)

This is a Less Involved QI – includes PIP QI measures

The Commonwealth government has recently announced that it is mandatory for vaccination providers to make timely recordings of all vaccinations into the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). Non compliance will result in a financial penalty.

Uploading to the AIR allows you to actively support immunisation coverage in your local community as well as contribute to the national immunisation coverage measurement. It also helps your practice to:

Identify patients for vaccination recalls.
Report immunisation medical exemptions online.
Create an Immunisation History Statement, which may be provided to childcare centres, schools, employment or for travel purposes when necessary.
Ensure the continuity of Family Tax Benefit A and child care subsidies. Incorrect or missing uploads to AIR will result in payment suspension, negatively impacting families who rely on family support payments.

Please note: there have been recent changes in how to access the AIR (see starting points below for more).

Goal

Improve recording and updating of individual immunisation data to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).

Measure

Percentage of vaccinations recorded in the AIR on audit.

Starting point

Ensure that staff who will upload data to the AIR have an individual PRODA account to:
- - verify their identity and the organisation’s identity, and to
  - access HPOS.
  - Go to AIR access for health professionals to set up and log in.
Complete all updates to practice management software to ensure transmission of data to the AIR. (If you experience any difficulties speak to your software provider.)
Provide training to the team via the Medicare Australia Health Professional Education Resources Gateway. Select elearning from the left hand navigation to access elearning modules including:
- - Register as a recognised vaccine provider
  - Accessing the AIR site for the first time
  - Submitting information to AIR
  - Overseas immunisations
  - Immunisation medical exemptions
Alternatively, see online instructions on the following tasks (from Services Australia):
- - - Submit immunisation information
    - Identify individual
    - Record encounter
    - Update encounter
    - Record a planned catch up for overdue vaccines
    - Record medical contraindication
    - Record a natural immunity
    - Print an immunisation history statement
    - Report and manage adverse vaccination events
See quick reference guide to the correct vaccine code formats required for data entry into the AIR.
Watch APNA’s Nursing Australia Podcast: Ep6 COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Preparation. The session includes communication with patients, planning tools and reporting.
Understand where the team is at in terms of confidence and skill set using the AIR. Brainstorm both the pain points and improvement ideas. Designate and develop key roles: Example from Healthwise Tweed Heads (thanks for sharing this, Dr Brett Lynam): All nurses can upload to AIR, but one nurse with a special interest does the follow-up of overdue vaccines, enters overseas given vaccines and plans catch-ups. This means there is a single go-to person in the practice for GPs and a direct contact for Carolyn Lloyd, Immunisation Coordinator NNSW.

Possible improvement ideas

Create a group vaccination strategy for your practice that includes designated roles and allocated time to upload to AIR at the time you give the vaccine to patients. You can re-use this strategy for flu vaccination or any other group vaccination clinic.
Create your own step-by-step AIR instruction guide specifically for your staff and the clinic. Print off and display in a prominent position.
Routinely check that data is being entered correctly. Identify any issues and rectify.