What is VMBIP?
The
Vaccine Management Business Improvement Project (VMBIP) represents
the efforts of the National Immunization
Program (NIP), state and local immunization program managers,
and an outside consulting group, to improve current vaccine
management processes at the federal, state and local levels.
The
goals for the project are to identify opportunities and develop
solutions towards improving efficiency, accountability, and
the nation's ability to respond to public health crises.
Why VMBIP is Needed
Vaccine management and accountability needs have grown dramatically since the inception of the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program in 1994. However, many vaccine management and accountability processes are still conducted using methods and technology established more than a decade ago.
Consisting of a patchwork of stand-alone computer applications and paper-based systems operated by CDC and state and local immunization programs, these processes:
- are
cumbersome and expensive to manage.
- prevent
rapid responses to changes in vaccine supply and demand
at the national, state or local levels.
- produce
inconsistent levels of accountability at the individual
immunization provider level.
VMBIP
Goals
The
goals of the Vaccine Management Business Improvement Project's
(VMBIP) are to:
- Simplify
processes for the ordering, distribution,
and management of vaccines in order
to be able to respond more quickly
and effectively to public health
crises related to disease outbreaks,
vaccine shortages, and disruption
of the vaccine supply.
- Implement
a more efficient vaccine supply system that will result
in the redirection of vital public health resources away
from vaccine distribution and towards public health activities
that will improve immunization coverage levels.
- Significantly
reduce the lead time between orders
for vaccine and delivery of that
vaccine and enable the direct delivery
of vaccines to providers.
First
Phase
In
2003, NIP established a team to review the existing system by
gathering information across all parts of the vaccine supply
chain, including vaccine manufacturers, third-party vaccine
distributors, state and local health departments, and medical
providers.
Through this review, a number of priority areas were identified including funds management, vaccine distribution, provider ordering, inventory management, and the operation of the national pediatric stockpile.
Second
Phase
The
second phase of the project involved the establishment of six teams to address specific components of this project.
These teams have been meeting to identify problem areas and
develop solutions.
Each
team contributes to the overall implementation of this project.
As VMBIP continues, it is important for NIP to keep its partners
and stakeholders informed of the process and the
progress that has been made since its inception.
Next
Steps
The
next step in the implementation process is to finalize the
details of the new approach and pilot the approach initially
on a small scale in a few immunization projects.
Once
the team has tested the processes in the first sites, the
pilot will be expanded to other projects, initially to those
that are already using commercial distributors, and then to
those that are currently distributing vaccine via internal
distribution systems.
Acronyms
| AIM |
Association of Immunization
Managers |
| AIRA |
American Immunization Registry
Association |
| ASTHO |
Association of State and Territorial
Health Officials |
| CSTE |
Council of State and Territorial
Health Officials |
| FMO |
Financial Management Office (CDC) |
| IRSB |
Immunization Registry Support
Branch (CDC) |
| NACCHO |
National
Association of County and City Health Officials |
| NCIRD |
National Center for Immunization
and Respiratory Diseases (CDC) |
| NIP |
National Immunization Program
(CDC) |
| PGO |
Procurement and Grants Office
(CDC) |
| PHII |
Public Health Informatics Institute |
| SNS |
Strategic National Stockpile |
|
