Healthcare providers will be able to track immunization records of patients through a Department of Health statewide registry expected to be set up by late 2007.

A similar information management system proved useful after Hurricane Katrina in response to vaccine-preventable diseases and other public health emergencies. But tracking data also would help Hawai'i officials identify low-immunization coverage areas and who is in need of what shots, said state epidemiologist Dr. Paul Effler.

The Hawai'i Immunization Registry, or HIREG, will store patient immunization records in a secure, Internet-based computer system accessible to clinicians and emergency room physicians with proper patient-entry information. "It won't allow for trolling (from outsiders)," Effler said.

The system is being set up with a three-year, $598,000 grant from the Hawaii Medical Service Association Foundation.

The state applied for the grant in summer 2005 and only recently completed its procurement process, clearing the way for hiring an information technology vendor with a startup timeframe of fall 2007 or at the latest, by year's end, Effler said.

The registry will help the Health Department to better protect residents from diseases such as measles, tetanus and whooping cough, which can be prevented with up-to-date vaccinations, Effler noted.

"Immunization is the most cost-effective public health intervention available outside of nutrition and sanitation," Effler said. "The statewide project will go forward carefully."

Once the registry is established, the state will be able to keep tabs on children from birth to when they enter school at about age 5 to ensure they have received all their shots.

According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention's recommended childhood and adolescent immunization schedule, children from birth to 6 years old should have had at least 18 to 20 vaccinations, while a dozen more shots, mostly involving series, should be on record from ages 7 to 18.

Effler estimated HIREG will have 19,000 new children entered for tracking each year once it's up.

"We do very well once they enter school, our rate is about 99 percent," Effler said of the current vaccination schedule of school-age children. He said younger children, from about age 2, are at about a 70 percent completion rate.

Cliff K. Cisco, HMSA senior vice president, said HIREG is a wonderful example of what can be done when public and private organizations work together.

"The result will be a higher level of quality care in Hawai'i," Cisco said.

Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.