At a glance
VTrckS is a robust vaccine management application that allows CDC, awardees, and healthcare providers to order and manage publicly-funded vaccines more efficiently. VTrckS benefits awardees and healthcare providers by reducing manual processes and administrative costs, as well as improving order accuracy via visibility into order, shipment, and inventory status.
About VTrckS
The Vaccine Tracking System (VTrckS) is a secure, web-based information technology system that integrates the entire publicly-funded vaccine supply chain from purchasing and ordering through distribution to participating state, local, and territorial health departments (referred to as 'awardees') and healthcare providers. VTrckS was launched at four pilot awardee sites in December 2010; the phased roll-out of the system to all 64 awardees was completed in May 2013.
VTrckS allows healthcare providers to input their vaccine requests (orders) online, thereby improving efficiency and accountability of public dollars. The system evaluates vaccine orders against specific guidelines set by awardees and the CDC. Most awardees are submitting orders via an external information system (ExIS), such as their state immunization information system (IIS), but some awardees have enrolled and trained their providers to submit orders directly into VTrckS.
The Importance of VTrckS
VTrckS is integral to supporting current and future requirements for effectively managing and distributing publicly-funded vaccines. The previous technology infrastructure was composed of multiple stand-alone systems developed during the 1990s. As the Vaccines for Children (VFC) and related programs have grown over the past 20 years, the technology needs associated with managing these programs expanded greatly in terms of both scale and complexity. By enabling significant improvements in vaccine order tracking, inventory visibility, fiscal and dosage accountability, and safety response capability at the federal, state, and local levels, the transition to VTrckS represents a crucial enhancement to our nation’s ability to respond to public health crises.
Benefits of VTrckS
For Awardees
VTrckS dramatically reduces awardees' need for manual processes and data entry, and also enables improved visibility into order status, shipment status, and provider inventory. Through VTrckS, awardees can:
- Enroll and manage providers as groups or individuals within a formulary
- Develop and manage spend plans and vaccine formulary
- Place and manage vaccine orders for their providers
- Manage and approve provider-placed orders
- Export vaccine orders from an external information system (ExIS) to VTrckS
- Generate a recommended vaccine order size that is tailored for each health care provider
- Estimate the amount of vaccine that providers will need every month
- Compare health care provider vaccine orders to original estimates
- Generate robust reports with visibility into vaccine orders through distribution as well as account balances
For Healthcare Providers
VTrckS reduces providers’ administrative costs and enables increased order accuracy through the ability to place and track orders online. Through VTrckS, healthcare providers can securely:
- Place and track vaccine orders online
- Order vaccine from their state or local external information system (ExIS), as approved by the respective awardee
- Submit accountability data online, such as doses administered by age eligibility and refrigerator count