Columbia University and FairChoice Systems, Inc. have signed a multi-year commercialization agreement that will bring to market a cost-effective, online student health information system developed and implemented by Columbia University's own Student Health Services.
Colleges and universities in thirty-seven states require Meningococcal Conjugate vaccination (or, alternatively, Meningococcal education) as a requirement for college attendance, and twenty states require Hepatitis B vaccination (Immunization Action Coalition, 2009).
To meet these requirements, many schools and universities throughout the country collate, verify, and report vaccination compliance information manually, at the start of each school year for returning students and at the beginning of each registration period for all new students. This time-intensive process can now be completely replaced by the FairChoice solution, a web-based, HIPAA- and FERPA-compliant student health information system.
"School officials, staff, and students alike are looking for convenient online solutions that allow them to focus on education, not paperwork," comments FairChoice CEO, Bernie Kluger, who led the technical development of the system when he was a project manager at Columbia University's Student Information Systems group. "We are pleased to be able to offer a system that's been thoroughly tested and validated at Columbia."
"Along with the associated time and cost savings of moving from a manual to an electronic system, we've been able to simplify compliance with New York State Department of Health requirements," reports Dr. Samuel Seward, Assistant Vice President and Medical Director of Health Services at Columbia University.