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California Health & Wellness is no longer a Medi-Cal plan starting January 1, 2024. Regardless of the county you live in, your Medi-Cal service and benefits will not be impacted by the health plan changes since you will be assigned to a new health plan. The county you live in determines your new health plan. Learn more

News

23-155 Enroll in the California Immunization Registry or RIDE/Healthy Futures

Date: 02/09/23

Providers who give vaccines must enter immunization information with race and ethnicity

Providers who give patient vaccinations are required to enter immunization information with the patient’s race and ethnicity into the California Immunization Registry (CAIR). This became effective January 1, 2023, through an amendment to Assembly Bill (AB) 1797. CAIR is operated by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

Who should use RIDE/Healthy Futures

Providers in Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Mariposa, or Tuolumne counties must enter patient immunization information in the RIDE/Healthy Futures registry instead of CAIR. Providers in these counties do not need to register in both immunization registries.

Enroll in CAIR or RIDE/Healthy Futures

If your practice does not currently participate in an immunization registry and you provide immunizations, contact either CAIR or RIDE/Healthy Futures. For more information or to start the enrollment process, go to:

Submit data or check participation status

If your practice is enrolled in an immunization registry but does not currently submit data or you need to check the status of your participation in one of the registries, contact:

  • CAIR Help Desk – send an email, call 800-578-7889 or contact your Local CAIR Representative.
  • RIDE/Healthy Futures Help Desk – send an email or call 209-468-2292.

Add past vaccination doses

Historical vaccinations are either vaccinations given by your site in the past but not added to CAIR as New Immunizations or those given by another provider that were never added to CAIR (i.e., entered on the patient's yellow card, but are not in CAIR).

  • To submit historical vaccinations through the data exchange (DX), work with your electronic health records (EHR) vendor support team and a CAIR Data Exchange Specialist (send an email) to discuss submission options. 
  • To manually enter historical vaccines, consult the CAIR2 Guide to Adding Historical Immunizations or view the Adding Historical Immunizations training video on YouTube.

Providers in Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Mariposa, or Tuolumne counties will need to report historical vaccinations to RIDE/Healthy Futures. For assistance, contact the RIDE/Healthy Futures Help Desk at 209-468-2292 or by email. 

Start reporting vaccinations right away

CDPH expects providers to start reporting to CAIR or RIDE/Healthy Futures as soon as all the necessary steps are completed. Refer to Add past vaccination doses above when you are ready.

For help in reporting doses as quickly as possible, contact CAIR and RIDE/Healthy Futures staff.

Attention providers in Vaccines for Children Program

Providers who participate in the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program and do not enter doses for January 1, 2023, and after will be asked for their CAIR ID or RIDE/Healthy Futures identification (ID) during recertification for 2023 and will be contacted if they do not have IDs.

For continued non-compliance with registering or entering doses into a registry, providers may no longer be able to order VFC vaccines. 

Verify data exchange submissions

If your organization uses data exchange (DX), CAIR requires that you set up at least one staff person with a Data Exchange Quality Assurance (DX QA) user role in CAIR. The DX QA user role (PDF) allows access to the CAIR 'Check Status' page for monitoring data submissions and data quality. 

For more information, visit the Data Exchange Monitoring Resources section on the CAIR2 User Guides webpage. This is found on the CDPH website.

Talk to patients about privacy concerns

Let patients know that CAIR or RIDE/Healthy Futures is safe and private. By law, it can be used only by authorized people in their medical office or health plan.

In addition, schools, childcare centers, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) programs, foster care agencies, and other programs can be authorized to look up shot records — but only for the children they serve. The registry can only be used to check shot records, see what shots are due and see how many children need shots.

  • You are required by law to inform them before their information is added to CAIR or RIDE/Healthy Futures.
  • Provide a copy of the Immunization Registry Notice to Patients and Parents for them to read. This notice is on the CDPH website. This is the 'disclosure form.' They do not have to sign it. The form is available in several languages.

Patients who decline immunization sharing

Enter vaccine doses on the same day

You are strongly encouraged to enter doses into a registry on the same day that they are administered.

  • It is beneficial (and in some cases a requirement) for providers, staff and patients.
  • It makes entry of doses and inventory management easier.
  • It helps patients quickly show proof of coverage to meet school or work vaccination requirements.

Additional Information

If you have questions regarding the information contained in this update, contact California Health & Wellness Plan at 877 658 0305.

 

This Information applies to Physicians, Independent Practice Associations (IPAs), Hospitals, and Ancillary Providers.