Virginia Infant Screening and Infant Tracking System

Overview

General Information

The Virginia Infant Screening and Infant Tracking System (VISITS) is a web-based tracking and data management system developed by the Virginia Department of Health through a contractual agreement with Welligent, LLC .

Integrated System Model

VISITS supports the following statewide tracking and education activities:

• Hearing Screening and Hearing Follow Up
• Newborn Screening (metabolic disorders, endocrine disorders, and hemoglobinapathies)
• Birth Defects Registry (VaCARES)
• At-Risk Screening (for developmental delay)

Primary Features

• Tracks all infants born in Virginia.
• Provides a single point of entry for infant records.
• Establishes a statewide, web-based centralized Oracle database.
• Allows immediate access to all infants without the need for exporting or transferring data.
• Facilitates information sharing and improved communication between VDH and VDMHMRSAS.
• Provides ability to quickly and easily detect statewide trends and report statistics.
• Allows authorized users to easily identify the full severity of an infant’s problems across screening programs.
• Provides a user-friendly mechanism to electronically transmit required data to a centralized database.
• Generates letters to ensure that infants testing positive receive the necessary follow-up services and information.

Confidentiality

• Firewall

  
  • Defends against unauthorized users accessing a private network (Usually the first line of defense).
  
  • A firewall is a piece of software, hardware, or a combination of both.
  
  • Screens all messages coming or going to meet certain security criteria.

• Encryption
  
  

  • Encryption is the process of encoding data to prevent unauthorized parties from viewing or modifying it.
  
  • Up to 3.4 trillion billion billion billion--or 2 to the power of 128--possible combinations of zeros and ones.
  
  • Prevents unwanted access to data, documents, and e-mail message. Password Protection.
  
  • All users are assigned unique usernames and passwords.
  
  • Only those users with valid logins can access the data.
  

• Password Protection
  
  

  • All users are assigned unique usernames and passwords.
  
  • Only those users with valid logins can access the data.
  

• Assigned security rights
  
  

  • Security rights limit a user’s ability to view, edit. update, and/or delete different types/levels of data.
  
  • Limits the level of detail for reporting

Funding

Major funding has been provided by Virginia Department of Mental Health Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services (DMHMRSAS) - Part C of IDEA.

Additional funding for project management has been provided by USDHHS, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Title V.

VISITS Advisory Committee

The VISITS Advisory Committee provides ongoing consultation and direction. Members include representatives from:

• Virginia Department of Health, Division of Child and Adolescent Health and Division of Women's and Infants' Health
• Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, Part C of IDEA
• Virginia Department of General Services, Division of Consolidated Laboratories
• Welligent, L.L.C

Power Point Slide Show

Download VISITS Slide Show (7,231 KB)

 

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