Cooperative Agreement for State Vital Statistics Improvement

Expanding on the initiatives of the previous Re-engineering Cooperative Agreement, NAPHSIS and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) began a five-year cooperative agreement in September 2007 called the State Vital Statistics Improvement (VSI) Program. The focus of the new initiative is to provide targeted technical assistance to jurisdictions with specific challenges, and to promote the implementation of NAPHSIS and NCHS standards and best practices throughout the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS).

Technical Assistance

Although great progress has been made in the adoption of electronic birth and death registration systems, all jurisdictions cannot produce a standardized national statistical data set based on the 2003 revised certificates of birth, death and fetal death. Therefore, NAPHSIS will continue to provide technical assistance to the jurisdictions for re-engineering vital records systems and implementing the 2003 revised certificates. NAPHSIS will also collaborate with NCHS to identify and work with jurisdictions challenged to meet timeliness and data quality requirements of the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. The services of a specialized consultant will be provided to conduct an in-depth assessment of issues and make detailed recommendations for business process improvement in registration, customer service, and statistics operations.

Best Practices

Another important mission of the VSI Cooperative Agreement is the development and promotion of standards and best practices in vital records security and fraud prevention. Key concerns involve the security of vital records data, information systems, vital records offices, and paper used for issuance of certified copies. NAPHSIS committees are working to develop security and fraud prevention guidelines for dissemination nationally and to promote the assignment of a security coordinator in each jurisdiction to carry out the recommended practices. In addition, NAPHSIS has developed a set of performance metrics to be applied to each jurisdiction's data quality, timeliness and completeness. An annual "report card" of performance measures will be provided to each jurisdiction, and may serve as the basis for delivering enhanced technical and business process support. NAPHSIS also will continue to promote an awareness of Public Health Information Network (PHIN) standards as they apply to vendor systems and to the exchange of vital records data between jurisdictions and with the NCHS.

Training

With funding from VSI and other grant programs, NAPHSIS is continuing to enhance training and education opportunities available to vital records staff. A thorough assessment of what training programs are currently available from jurisdictions and what needs still remain was conducted and an extensive on-line library of training programs, courses, and other training opportunities accessible to the NAPHSIS membership was compiled. NAPHSIS plans to develop additional training offerings in collaboration with the NCHS and will continue to address training concerns and demonstrate online training offerings at NAPHSIS regional and annual meetings.

State and Territorial Exchange of Vital Events (STEVE)

NAPHSIS has developed a new, Web-based system for exchanging and reporting vital events to other jurisdictions using standard IJE file layouts. Developed around the CDC's PHINMS messaging protocol, the STEVE System was completed and installed in five pilot states in early 2009: Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota. Additional jurisdictions are joining the STEVE trading partner community each month, and all jurisdictions are expected to be on STEVE by early 2011. STEVE has several important functions that are activated when a file is loaded into the system: 1) STEVE automates the point-to-point exchange of inter-jurisdictional natality, mortality, fetal death, and ITOP data in a standardized file format configured to meet the sending jurisdiction's data use and exchange rules; 2) it sends a short-form death notice to the jurisdiction of birth; 3) STEVE can send specially configured file layouts to other approved state programs, such as newborn hearing screening, immunization, voter registration, and NVDRS via a system of "mailboxes" and data export tools created for these programs; 4) STEVE allows a jurisdiction to automatically send its own data to the program mailboxes it has set up, so generating multiple data extracts is no longer required; 5) it automatically strips off and sends reportable data to NCHS according to VSCP contract requirements; 6) it creates a customized data file to be used for approved research and; 7) STEVE allows users to transmit a single file, specific data set or imaged document to a designated jurisdiction (must be an active trading partner) on request. It is anticipated that once the trading partner network is fully implemented, STEVE will be expanded to support additional federal partners and possibly other trading partner networks.

For more information on the VSI Cooperative Agreement, please contact the NAPHSIS Re-engineering Project Manager, Leesa Shem-Tov, at 301/563-6001 or at lshemtov@naphsis.org.