Summary:
Immunization Schedules (timings) are a key feature to make sure people (especially children) get the right vaccinations, at the right times, and enough of them, so that they are safely covered from diseases.
This visual project will make it easier for clinicians to see how many doses a child/person has had, and what immunizations they are due for.
Context
Immunization “schedules” are like “Timings”: A place’s immunization schedule shows “when a certain immunization is meant to be given, and how many times, after how long of intervals.” They also help to:
Show a record of what & when things were given
Prompt a provider to remember that something else is due
Guide a provider in cases that are not clear (e.g. catch-up, medical risk factors, and more).
Differences: These Schedules are often different by country or region. Just look at the WHO’s records to see comparisons showing how many countries have different timings for different types of immunizations.
Key Concepts:
⚠️ Children: Babies, toddlers, and school-aged children are high-priorities for vaccination because they are the most vulnerable to infectious diseases. If you like cartoons, these visuals are a fun way to learn how certain immunizations at particular ages protect kids from certain diseases.
🟡 Adults: Adults need regular vaccinations too. So there are usually different Vaccination Schedules for Adults as well.
🔴 People with Risk Factors or Medical Conditions: These people
⚠️“Catch-Up Immunization”: It is very common for a child (or adult!) to receive a vaccination late, for many legitimate reasons. When this happens, there is often guidance for clinicians about the time-range of the patient’s age or time-range after the last dose for when the next immunization should be given.
Examples from around the world
Vertical charts like this one from India also show time/patient age along an axis, but include more detailed remarks. (Source).
Electronic Examples from other Systems
⚠️ Important Requirements
To do: Review FHIR requirements & considerations / insights https://www.hl7.org/fhir/immunization.html
Concept-driven: For example, Partners In Health uses these CIEL concepts (obsgroup with obs for immunizations, immunization sequence number, and vaccination date): https://www.openconceptlab.org/orgs/CIEL/sources/CIEL/concepts/1421/
Configurability. These Schedules are often different by country, state/province, region, or even organization (I know, it’s surprising it’s not the same world-wide!). This means this feature will need to be very configurable.