From ND Health and Human Services - Provider Partnership Program Information

Annually, all providers currently enrolled in the Prevention Partnership Program are required to renew their enrollment to receive Vaccines for Children (VFC) vaccine. This year providers who administer North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services (ND HHS) supplied vaccine to eligible adults will also be required to complete the Vaccines for Adults (VFA) enrollment. Both the VFC and VFA enrollment surveys must be completed online, the links are found below. The last page of both of the surveys must be printed, signed by the Medical Director and returned to the Immunization Unit prior to Friday, March 9, 2024.  All signature pages should be sent via email to vaccine@nd.gov.

By submitting the 2024 enrollment surveys and returning the last page of both the VFC and VFA surveys with the Medical Director’s signature, the documentation portion of enrollment is then complete.  Please refer to the enclosed 2024 Prevention Partnership Enrollment Checklist to ensure that your facility has completed all sections of the required enrollment process. The checklist is for provider use only and does not need to be returned to the immunization unit. The 2024 Vaccine Management Policy is currently being approved and will soon be found on the immunization unit website, under the Immunization Policy heading.  Physical copies of the Vaccine Management Policy will also be mailed to enrolled facilities.

PROVIDER ENROLLMENT SURVEYS

There are two enrollment surveys this year.  One is required for participation in the VFC program and the other for the VFA program. All facilities who plan on administering ND HHS supplied vaccines to eligible adults must complete both surveys. The 2024 enrollment surveys can be found below or on the immunization unit’s website. The enrollment surveys serve as the main portion of enrollment, by asking providers for current primary and backup contact information, reviewing all VFC and VFA program requirements and signing the agreements. The chief physician or medical director who signs standing orders for immunizations is required to sign the last page of both of the enrollment surveys. The last page of each of the surveys that contains the Medical Director’s signature must be returned to the immunization unit prior to the due date.  All other persons with prescription-writing authority who administer state-supplied vaccine must be listed in the enrollment survey.  Birthing hospitals are exempt from this requirement.  Only the medical director needs to be listed for birthing hospitals. If provider information changes (i.e., providers join or leave the practice), it must be reported to the immunization unit as soon as possible. Providers should read the enrollment survey in its entirety and ensure that all program requirements are being met by the facility. Compliance with program requirements will be assessed at provider site visits, at a minimum of every other year.   The signature pages of the enrollment surveys can be emailed to vaccine@nd.gov.

VFC Enrollment Survey

VFA Enrollment Survey

PROVIDER PROFILE FORM

A pre-populated provider profile will be emailed to each facility’s VFC contact.  “Provider Estimates” have been completed for you based on North Dakota Immunization Information System (NDIIS) data for calendar year 2023. If you disagree with the pre-populated estimates, please send an email with your updated estimates and the data source.  Someone from the Immunization Unit will reach out to work through the updated estimates. If there are no changes from the pre-populated profile, no further steps are needed.  If NDIIS data is unavailable for your facility, you will have to complete this portion on your own using benchmarking or encounter data.

ANNUAL PROVIDER EDUCATION

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requires immunization units to train their VFC providers annually about VFC requirements, including proper vaccine storage and handling.  ND HHS requires all primary and backup vaccine coordinators (minimum of two people per site) to take a web-based training by the enrollment deadline of March 9, 2024. The required education was done as the February lunch and learn on Wednesday, February 14th.  If you attended this live webinar and passed the corresponding post-test, then you have completed the required education. For anyone who did not attend the education, it is posted on the immunization unit’s education website, under the “2024 VFC Required Education Webinar” heading.

If your facility is not currently enrolled in either the VFC or VFA program and would like to be, please email vaccine@nd.gov.  Thanks!