Physicians in New York City

Dear Colleagues:

There are important changes to the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program vaccine ordering process.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently launched a new vaccine ordering system which the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Bureau of Immunization must use to place VFC orders.  This new system requires providers to report on-hand VFC vaccine inventory including lot numbers when ordering VFC vaccines.

The Online Registry VFC Vaccine Ordering and Management Tool has been modified to allow entry of vaccine lot numbers.  When ordering VFC vaccines, providers should log on to the Online Registry at www.nyc.gov/health/cir as is currently done, select the VFC icon on the main tool bar, and go to the “Order VFC Vaccine” section.  Next, providers will follow the current six-step ordering process, but in step 3 will need to select the vaccine lot number and expiration date from the drop-down list for each vaccine type in their VFC inventory.  The provider will then enter the number of doses on-hand.  The lot numbers for shipped VFC vaccine will have been pre-populated.  If providers borrowed VFC vaccines, they will need to include the lot numbers, expiration dates, and number of doses of privately-purchased vaccines on-hand that are being used to replenish VFC doses.

For providers using the Online Registry to report immunizations to the Citywide Immunization Registry, please note that VFC vaccine lot numbers are now populated in “My Lot” lists for easy selection when using the “Current Immunization”, “Modify History” and “Add History” functions.

A set of slides which shows the VFC vaccine ordering process is available at this link.  For questions or assistance, please email us at nycimmunize@health.nyc.gov or call the Bureau of Immunization Hotline at 347-396-2400.  We thank you for vaccinating New York City children to protect them from vaccine-preventable diseases.

Sincerely,
Jane R. Zucker, MD, MSc

The New York City Health Code now requires written parental consent before direct oral suction can be performed as part of circumcision.  For further information, see here.  Parental consent forms in English and Yiddish are also available.

Influenza Update, 2012
This is an update on the availability and distribution of seasonal influenza vaccine through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program and on early coverage estimates for New York City (NYC).

TB Testing No Longer Required to School Entry
Effective June 12, 2012, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene no longer requires that new entrants to secondary schools in New York City undergo testing for latent tuberculosis infection.

The Child & Adolescent Examination Form (CH205) can be accessed and completed through the Citywide Immunization Registry (CIR).  By accessing the form in this way, immunization and lead data will automatically pre-populate the form.  The completed forms can be printed or faxed automatically to the school, camp or daycare.  Please see attached for a set of instructions.

Dr. Thomas Farley, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, has distributed a letter detailing the Medical Requirements for Students for the 2012-2013 school year.  In addition, he has provided a Tuberculosis Risk Assessment Questionnaire to determine which students may require testing for tuberculosis.

FluMist® Replacement Program – The Replacement Program allows for the replacement of unused, expiring FluMist® doses, at no cost.   Vaccine eligible for replacement must have been obtained through the Vaccines For Children (VFC) program, and must expire between August 2012 and January 31, 2013.  The linked letter lists the requirements and process to request replacement product.   If you have any questions regarding the Replacement Program, please call 1-877-633-7375.

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The New York City Health Department is eager to share with you some exciting new resources and tools related to adolescent sexual and reproductive health.  As part of Mayor Bloomberg’s Young Men’s Initiative,  we have developed Best Practices in Sexual and Reproductive Health Care for Adolescents (Best Practices) and the Teens in NYC Web-based Portal (TNYC Portal).

The Best Practices reflect current evidence, guidelines and input from many experts in the field, and are endorsed by: the New York State Department of Health; the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation; the American Academy of Pediatrics, District II, NYS; the Academy of Family Physicians, NY County, NYS; and the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, NYS.  They are available online (with links to a variety of resources), and can be found by visiting nyc.gov and searching for Adolescent Sexual Health.

The TNYC Portal, open to NYC providers of adolescent sexual and reproductive health services from any specialty (pediatrics, primary care, family medicine, adolescent health, family planning, and obstetrics and gynecology), allows providers to:

• Assess their performance relative to the Best Practices
• Inform quality improvement work
• Receive updates on resources and training for NYC providers
• Become eligible for inclusion in the TNYC Preferred Referral Guide, a popular guide that will soon be available as a mobile app and listsproviders that offer high-quality sexual and reproductive health services to adolescents.

To join the TNYC Portal or get more information, email us at teenclinicregistration@health.nyc.gov.