During this webinar we will be discussing Florida SHOTS functions for EVERY patient encounter. You are probably very familiar with using the system for well-visits and back-to-school physicals, but we want to stress the importance of utilizing the registry at every visit to check vaccination status to never miss an opportunity to vaccinate. We will review how to check the patient’s immunization status, record administered/historical vaccines and generate the Immunization History Report for your patients.

Click below to register!

Thursday, January 6, 12:30pm

Wednesday, January 12, 12:30pm * Spanish

Wednesday, January 19, 12:00pm

The Religious Exemption from Immunization Form, is only issued for Kindergarten through 12th grades if immunizations are in conflict with the religious tenets and practices of the child’s parent or guardian. This exemption is ONLY issued by a County Health Department (CHD) and is not available to adults or college students.

A recent determination by the Florida Department of Health regarding patient non-participation (“opt-out”) in Florida SHOTS indicates that it may be necessary to delete the patients records of those opted-out from the immunization registry. Be aware that immunization records for some of your patients who opted-out may no longer be available to you through Florida SHOTS. However, immunization information in your electronic medical record will not be affected.

We are attempting to contact adult patients and parents of children and adolescent patients who may have elected to opt-out of Florida SHOTS, to give them the opportunity to rescind that election and participate fully in Florida SHOTS. Please encourage any patients or parents of your patients who may be affected by this recent development to respond to our mailing as quickly as possible, and to elect to keep their immunizations on file with the Department of Health and in Florida SHOTS.

After 3/1/19, a search for a patient with an opt-out status will result in the following message:

“This patient has requested non-participation in Florida SHOTS; no immunization information is available on this individual.”

For those opted-out:

• After 3/1/19, no provider - including the patient’s Current Immunization Provider - will have access to any pre-existing vaccination information in the Florida SHOTS registry. All immunizations, exemptions, contraindications, etc., will be removed and entering a new record for that patient will not be possible.

For patients choosing to opt back into Florida SHOTS:

• If opting-in is done before the date of record removal, there is a Department of Health form they may complete and provide to the Florida SHOTS help desk. Any prior record of vaccines, previously allowed entry into the registry, will be accessible.
• If they choose to opt-in after the date of record removal, they may do so; however, a new record must then be created, requiring the provider to have physical proof of all immunizations before they are added.

Should the patient choose to remain opted-out, it is recommended they maintain physical documented proof of immunizations. After 3/1/2019, opted-out patients may be asked to show proof of immunizations by physicians, schools, daycare centers, etc., and Florida SHOTS will no longer provide this information.

We ask that, should you become aware of any patients currently “opted-out” from Florida SHOTS, you please ensure they are aware of this policy and exactly what it entails.

With the latest registry release, the process of documenting history of varicella disease (chickenpox) has changed. The system now uses “Observations” for documenting contraindications and precautions to receiving certain vaccinations. Our new guide provides step-by-step directions for documenting chickenpox and includes an example scenario for meningococcal b in the patient record. Click HERE to download!

We understand there may be times that you may need to edit a vaccine record that has been either manually entered or uploaded into Florida SHOTS. You can download our new step-by-step guide HERE. Also available in Spanish.

Florida SHOTS provides the “Shots Recorded” totals to VFC providers when placing VFC vaccine orders on the inventory confirmation page. This total may not always match the totals entered in the “Doses Administered” column, and in many cases this is due to the lot number not being entered correctly in the patient record. The most common errors are entering extra characters and entering the letter “O” instead zeros. 

For users who are responsible for receiving new shipments in Florida SHOTS, it’s important to compare and confirm the lot numbers in the registry and on the actual vaccines before applying that receipt to your VFC inventory. If there are any differences, you can edit the information in Florida SHOTS before applying the receipt to your VFC inventory. And, remember: For Pentacel, MMR, VZV and Proquad, the lot number on the box should be used.

Click HERE to see steps on how to complete the edit or HERE for Spanish.

Are you ready for back-to-school rush? During this month’s live webinars, we will be reviewing everything to prepare you for this busy time of year. Topics will include reviewing patient immunization status, entering vaccines, certifying the DH680 form and creating parent PINs.

Click HERE to register today!

If you are a private provider whose organization, or any of its sites, participates in one of our ordering efforts (such as the Vaccines for Children Program), you will now see a field labeled “Funding Program” when adding a current vaccine. In this field, you will need to document whether the administered vaccine was ordered through Florida SHOTS, and if so, which ordering effort is being used. Please note that the “Funding Program” field should be left at the default of “-Select-“ for vaccines from your private stock. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

If your office participates in data upload with Florida SHOTS and you can’t find an uploaded vaccine record, check your transaction statistics. When logged into the registry, click on “System Transactions” and then “Transaction Statistics” from the menu. You’ll be able to see all shots uploaded as well as any errors, rejections, and warnings. Checking your transaction stats also ensures your office is current in your data uploads. To learn more data upload tips, sign up HERE for the “Data Upload Log Reports” training offered the third Wednesday of every month.

Florida SHOTS users and patient records are integral parts of a data universe that thrives on information. Users make a great impact by entering as much verified information as possible in a timely manner.  When each of us does our part in ensuring complete, correct, and current information, time is saved by not having to adjust inaccurate or duplicate records. This means that the correct patients get the vaccinations they need on schedule. Take the time now to save time later.

COMPLETE. CORRECT. CURRENT.