eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

A new Covid-19 Vaccination Coverage dashboard is identifying unvaccinated people and populations in the Southern region so providers can reach out and help them get the jab.

WellSouth PHO is providing the dashboard to general practices in its network as a tool for finding unvaccinated people and helping them to get their first or second dose.

Thalamus, from Datacraft, is a data and information support tool and this latest dashboard uses data drawn directly from the  CIR (Covid Immunisation Registrar) each day and blended with patient management system data.
 
WellSouth chief digital officer Damon Campbell says identifying and contacting unvaccinated patients, or those who have only had a single dose, is increasingly important as the region works to reach hard-to-engage populations and those who may be vaccine hesitant.

The dashboards are also made available to other organisations, such as local Māori health providers,  to ensure everyone is “on the same page” when it comes to the data. Campbell says one of the benefits of Thalamus is that this can be done without revealing practice or patient identifiable data.

The dashboard also has a spatial intelligence feature, to identify pockets of unvaccinated populations, which the mobile vaccination clinic is finding particularly useful.

“It’s been really well received and now it’s about ‘what do we do with the data?’ as we know the numbers,” he says.

A benchmarking function allows GPs to see where their practice sits in terms of vaccination rates.

Campbell says the emphasis is on identifying those that are succeeding and learning lessons from them that could be applied elsewhere. The PHO’s practice network relationship team is facilitating those conversations between GPs.

“It’s not capacity that’s an issue, it’s about how do we get arms in front of needles,” he says.

“It’s about providing choice and removing barriers.”