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Group of IIS Managers at PHII Offices
Challenges and changes: preparing a new generation of IIS managers
Piper Hale, MPH
Earlier this summer, a group of public health professionals from all over the country arrived at our offices to be trained in managing immunization information systems (IIS). These professionals were all IIS managers who had been in their jobs for six months or less—and as these new managers settled into their roles, they faced an endless stream of issues in need of solutions.

“The challenges are like bacteria. They’re too numerous to count!” said one attendee from Connecticut.

“We leap from one deadline to another fire. We’re so reactive that we don’t get a chance to get ahead of problems,” a participant from Wisconsin told us.

IIS managers typically are stretched thin as they deal with all the complexities of the information systems they oversee—from the granular details, like keeping duplicate records from clogging up the system and preparing for HL7, to the big picture, like settling multi-year contracts with IT vendors and managing their staff.

To help new managers prepare for the challenges ahead, PHII and our Informatics Academy held a special training for the third year in a row using funding from the CDC. I made a short video (above) to tell you a little bit more about how that training went.

The challenges are like bacteria. They’re too numerous to count! —Training attendee from Connecticut
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