Mandatory Vaccine Reporting Begins October 1, 2019

August 2, 2019

About the New Requirement

As of October 1, 2019, all vaccinations administered in the State of Maryland are required to be reported to Maryland’s Immunization Information System, ImmuNet. This new requirement was passed into law during the 2019 legislative session, and is codified in State Statute §18–109(d)(6)(I)3.

ImmuNet is Maryland’s Immunization Information System; it is a secure web-based registry operated by the Maryland Department of Health. Information stored on ImmuNet is confidential and available only to authorized users​.

Exemption

Should your practice encounter a patient with concerns about their health information being reported to ImmuNet, an exemption is available. This brochure is available to educate patients about ImmuNet and to inform them of their right to “refuse to permit” ImmuNet reporting: bit.ly/2KcR3l9. An opt-out form must be filed in the case of a refusal.

Am I Already Reporting to ImmuNet?

Sign in to ImmuNet to check if your patients’ vaccination records from your practice are in ImmuNet.  No ImmuNet access? Get access here.​​​

For Physicians Already Reporting to ImmuNet​

If you report to ImmuNet, whether you enter your data manually, upload flat files, or submit your data through your Electronic Medical Records either with a direct connection to ImmuNet or via the State-designated Health Information Exchange (CRISP), you can sign in to ImmuNet to check that your data is being entered or sent across successfully. Periodic checks help to ensure the quality of patients’ data. Be aware that vendors must communicate updates made to EHR interfaces to Immunet, as that can affect data submission.

If you do not have an ImmuNet account to sign in, complete the ImmuNet Enrollment form here. Hard copies (here​​) can be downloaded for printing and distribution.

If your organization is reporting through a network or umbrella EMR under the same group Organization ID, you should have your EMR vendor update the Organization ID to the one for your specific site. This will ensure your data and reporting status is reflected correctly under your specific site in ImmuNet. If you need your specific site Organization ID, please contact the ImmuNet Help Desk.

For Physicians Not Yet Reporting to ImmuNet​

If You Have an EMR System

If you participate in the CMS Promoting Interoperability (PI) programs (the EHR Incentive Program or Meaningful Use or MIPS), you may already be registered to report to ImmuNet. If you are still in the queue and have a TEST file ready to submit, contact the Public Health Reporting Help Desk.

Providers not participating in the CMS PI programs should also register to get in the queue for testing. Please visit the Public Health reporting webpage to view the onboarding steps (Registration, Testing, and Production), including the ImmuNet specifications. Once registered, you will receive an acknowledgment that you have been placed in the onboarding queue, and an onboarding/validation staff will contact you to get started.

Multiple locations sharing the same EMR system can register and onboard together as a group effort. However, each location/site will be assigned a separate Organization ID in ImmuNet.

ImmuNet supports bidirectional data exchange through the Maryland State Health Information Exchange partner, CRISP. Instructions for onboarding with CRISP can be found here​.

If You Do Not Have an EMR System

The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) strongly recommends reporting vaccination data to ImmuNet through an EHR/EMR.

If EHR/EMR is not a feasible option for you, there are two other methods of reporting to ImmuNet. Both will require that you have an ImmuNet account. If you don’t have one, complete the ImmuNet Enrollment form here. Hard copies (here​) can be downloaded for printing and distribution.

  1. Upload flat files to ImmuNet on a daily basis:

ImmuNet specifications to upload vaccination data flat files on a daily basis are available here.

OR

  1. Enter patient vaccination data manually in ImmuNet on a daily basis:

Please review the ImmuNet training videos for guidance.

Additional Resources

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