Shot in the Arm: IT works quickly to fix vaccine self-scheduling issue

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted almost every aspect of our lives over the past year, so it should come as no surprise that even the virus’ solutions need solutions at times.

Earlier this month, the WVU Medicine Information Technology team put together an effective solution that streamlines the workflows of its vaccination clinics, minimizes data entry, and works in conjunction with the federal Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS), but also Everbridge, the state’s system, and Epic.

Thanks to this solution, eligible residents are invited to self-schedule an appointment on a web portal at a time that is convenient to them. Residents also can find useful information about the vaccine and directions to the clinics.

Unfortunately, right around the time when Gov. Jim Justice expanded the eligibility criteria for the COVID-19 vaccine, computer-savvy individuals found a way to hijack a link for the Monongalia County clinic. Using this link allowed individuals to bypass the questionnaire about the state eligibility requirements and self-schedule for COVID-19 vaccines without restrictions. To make matters worse, the link was shared on social media, forcing the Monongalia County clinic to temporarily introduce an age requirement of 50 years or older to self-schedule in order to protect vaccination slots for eligible residents.

WVU Medicine IT worked quickly to prevent this problem from occurring at the other clinics in the state, and in a matter of days, ultimately applied a patch in Epic that prevents bypassing the eligibility criteria.

“The IT team has been working around the clock to fix this issue,” said Ilo Romero, vice president and assistant chief information officer, said. “Our scheduling solution has become very popular. It is used in Monongalia, Berkeley, Jefferson, Harrison, and Marion counties – and Nicholas County is scheduled to be live this week. So it was very important to find a fix to this problem in a timely manner. Thanks to this fix, any eligible West Virginian can self-schedule for the vaccine at all the sites that WVU Medicine supports.”

The system not only allows citizens to self-schedule but streamlines the VAMS documentation and follow-up processes.

“Once vaccination schedules are filled, the information is uploaded into VAMS to minimize the amount of data entry required at the clinic,” Romero said. “And when patients arrive at the clinic they get their second appointment scheduled, as well, and they even get a robocall reminder the day before their appointment.”

Pictured below are some key members of the IT team who came up with the solution. Front row, left to right: Kelly Jacob and Joe Stark. Middle row, left to right: Jodi Kooser, Jhoni Stephens, and Ilo Romero. Back row, left to right: Kathleen Baldwin and Amy Klink.