Columbia University, FairChoice Systems sign agreement to market student health information system

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.

"Low compliance rates increase the risk of a disease outbreak, while the inaccessibility of paper records can hinder the ability of officials to react in the event of an outbreak," explained FairChoice Vice President of Health Solutions, Kathryn Clark. Ms. Clark previously managed Student Health Services operations at Columbia's medical center campus.

Under the terms of the agreement, FairChoice will extend the capabilities of the original system to include automation of other reporting requirements, including MMR vaccination tracking and student insurance enrollment.

"We are excited to enter into this relationship with FairChoice and have them replicate and build upon the experience at Columbia. FairChoice can clearly benefit other colleges and universities that are struggling with the cost of compliance, while ensuring that public health mandates are met," said Ryan Armbrust, the licensing officer from Columbia Technology Ventures who brokered the deal.