Abstract:
Systems, methods and apparatus are provided through which in some embodiments, a software system instructs a participant in a vaccination process when the participant should schedule medical appointments to receive vaccinations as a part of the process. In some embodiments, the software system tracks information submitted by the participant as to the date, and the physician&#39;s name and telephone number as required by governmental regulation. In some embodiments, if the participant fails to comply within the guidelines of the vaccination process, the software system notifies a medical department to invoke personal contact with the participant to answer questions of the participant or identify a reason for change in preference by the participant.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates generally to medical regulatory compliance, and more particularly to managing administration of a communicable disease vaccination process.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Workers are often exposed to communicable diseases. Such workers include healthcare providers, first medical emergency responders, medical refurbishment technicians and medical equipment field engineers. This exposure is a well-known risk to workers. Communicable diseases include infectious communicable diseases. One category of infectious communicable diseases is bloodborne pathogens, such as pathogens that are carried in blood and/or saliva, which includes the Hepatitis B virus. Exposure to the communicable diseases by the workers can present a serious financial risk to an employer of the workers. At the very least, fear of exposure to the communicable diseases can hinder the productivity of the workers, but exposure may also present serious legal liability and public relations damage if the workers fall ill to the communicable diseases.  
         [0003]     Accordingly, employers of the workers seek to help protect their employees who are at risk of exposure to communicable diseases. In some instances, the employers are required by law to help protect those employees from exposure. In one such instance, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that all employees who are at risk of being exposed to blood-borne pathogens must be offered, and if accepted, receive Hepatitis B vaccination at the employer&#39;s expense. The employer is required to track the vaccination process that includes three shots and one blood test. The vaccination process must be tracked to completion for each employee at risk or until the employee signs a declination form stating that the employee no longer wishes to continue involvement in the vaccination process.  
         [0004]     All conventional means of managing administration of a communicable disease vaccination process are manual systems that rely on paper to store information and that rely solely on humans to analyze data and report information. These manual systems suffer from a number of deficiencies, such as high cost for the manual labor, increased risk of error in recording and analyzing data, poor reporting ability and high risk of loss of information. These deficiencies increase the risk that the manual system will fail to some extent, which in turn can hinder the productivity of the workers, present serious legal liability and public relations damage if the employees fall ill to the communicable disease.  
         [0005]     For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for a more cost effective and reliable system of managing administration of vaccination for a communicable disease in order to provide lower labor cost, lower risk of error in recording and analyzing vaccination process data, improved reporting ability and lower risk of loss of information.  
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The above-mentioned shortcomings, disadvantages and problems are addressed herein, which will be understood by reading and studying the following specification.  
         [0007]     In some embodiments, a software system instructs a participant in a vaccination process as to when the participant should schedule medical appointments to receive vaccinations as a part of the process. In some embodiments, the software system tracks information submitted by the participant as to the date, and the physician&#39;s name and telephone number as required by governmental regulation. In some embodiments, if the participant fails to comply within the guidelines of the vaccination process, the software system notifies a medical department to invoke personal contact with the participant to answer questions of the participant or identify a reason for change in preference by the participant.  
         [0008]     In one aspect, a first computer-accessible medium includes executable instructions to manage a communicable disease vaccination process, the executable instructions being capable of directing a processor to store data describing participation by an individual in a communicable disease vaccination process, and to analyze the data describing participation by the individual in the communicable disease vaccination process.  
         [0009]     In another aspect, the first computer-accessible medium further includes executable instructions capable of directing a processor to access data describing participation by an individual in a communicable disease vaccination process, to determine compliance with the communicable disease vaccination process for the individual, to identify the current date and time being within a time period of at least one act of compliance in the communicable disease vaccination process for the individual, to generate a reminder email addressed to the individual, the reminder email comprising data describing the act of compliance, and to distribute the at least one reminder email through the Internet.  
         [0010]     In yet another aspect, a second computer-accessible medium includes executable instructions to manage a communicable disease vaccination process, the executable instructions being capable of directing a processor to manage administration of at least one vaccination process, and to manage finalization of the at least one vaccination process.  
         [0011]     In still another aspect, the executable instructions manage administration of at least one vaccination process further comprise executable instructions to invoke a first performance of a vaccination cycle for a communicable disease, to invoke a second performance of the vaccination cycle for a communicable disease about thirty days after the first performing, and to invoke a third performance of the vaccination cycle for a communicable disease about one-hundred-and-eighty days after the first performing.  
         [0012]     Systems, clients, servers, methods, and computer-readable media of varying scope are described herein. In addition to the aspects and advantages described in this summary, further aspects and advantages will become apparent by reference to the drawings and by reading the detailed description that follows. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram that provides a system level overview of a system to manage a communicable disease vaccination process;  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart of a method of managing the vaccination process of a communicable disease according to an embodiment;  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart of a method of initializing the vaccination process;  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart of a method of entering data according to an embodiment in which the communicable disease is Hepatitis B;  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart of a method of managing the vaccination cycle according to an embodiment;  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart of a method of a vaccination cycle for Hepatitis B according to an embodiment;  
         [0019]      FIG. 7  is a flowchart of a method of managing finalization according to an embodiment;  
         [0020]      FIG. 8  is a flowchart of a method of managing vaccination compliance information according to an embodiment;  
         [0021]      FIG. 9  is a block diagram of an apparatus to manage a communicable disease vaccination process according to an embodiment;  
         [0022]      FIG. 10  is a block diagram of an apparatus to manage a blood-borne pathogens vaccination process in a client/server environment according to an embodiment;  
         [0023]      FIG. 11  is a diagram of a data structure for use in managing a blood-borne pathogens vaccination process according to an embodiment; and  
         [0024]      FIG. 12  is a block diagram of the hardware and operating environment in which different embodiments can be practiced. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0025]     In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments which may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical, mechanical, electrical and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.  
         [0026]     The detailed description is divided into five sections. In the first section, a system level overview is described. In the second section, methods of embodiments are described. In the third section, particular implementations are described. In the fourth section, the hardware and the operating environment in conjunction with which embodiments may be practiced are described. Finally, in the fifth section, a conclusion of the detailed description is provided.  
       System Level Overview  
       [0027]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram that provides a system level overview of a system to manage a communicable disease vaccination process. System  100  solves the need in the art for a more cost effective and reliable system of managing administration of a communicable disease vaccination process.  
         [0028]     System  100  includes a storer  102  of communicable disease vaccination process data that stores the data in a database  104 . The storer  102  and the database provides an automated system of managing administration of a communicable disease vaccination process that in turn lowers labor costs of storing the data, lowers the risk of error in recording the data and lowers the risk of loss of the data.  
         [0029]     System  100  also includes an analyzer  106  of the communicable disease vaccination process data. The automated process of the analyzer  106  lowers the risk of error in analyzing data which in turns improves reporting ability on the vaccination process data.  
         [0030]     The system level overview of the operation of an embodiment has been described in this section of the detailed description. Embodiments operate in a multi-processing, multi-threaded operating environment on a computer, such as computer  1202  in  FIG. 12 .  
         [0031]     While the system  100  is not limited to any particular storer  102 , database  104  and analyzer  106 , for sake of clarity a simplified storer  102 , database  104  and analyzer  106  have been described. In other embodiments, the storer  102  and analyzer  106  are integrated into one component, or disintegrated into more components than as shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0032]     System  100  reduces employer time in making telephone calls to verify compliance with the vaccination process by a participant as well as reduces time in charting data in medical records. System  100  tracks participation, which in turn allows quick access to data of individual participant or aggregation of participants. System  100  also reduces the risk of governmental fines for non-compliance of vaccination regulations.  
       Methods of an Embodiment  
       [0033]     In the previous section, a system level overview of the operation of an embodiment was described. In this section, the particular methods performed by computer of such an embodiment are described by reference to a series of flowcharts. Describing the methods by reference to a flowchart enables one skilled in the art to develop such programs, firmware, or hardware, including such instructions to carry out the methods on suitable computers, the processor of the computers executing the instructions from computer-readable media. Similarly, the methods performed by the computer programs, firmware, or hardware are also composed of computer-executable instructions. Methods  200 - 800  are performed by a program executing on, or performed by firmware or hardware that is a part of, a computer, such as computer  1202  in  FIG. 12 .  
         [0034]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart of a method  200  of managing the vaccination process for a communicable disease according to an embodiment. Method  200  solves the need in the art for a more cost effective and reliable system of managing administration of vaccination for communicable disease.  
         [0035]     Method  200  includes initializing  202  the vaccination process. One embodiment of the initializing is shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0036]     Method  200  thereafter includes determining  204  the purpose of performing method  200 . If the purpose is to enter data, then entering  206  data pertaining to the vaccination process of one or more participants is performed, otherwise managing the vaccination cycle  208  and managing  210  finalization is performed. Examples of data pertaining to the vaccination process are describe in  FIG. 11 . Method  400  is one embodiment of entering data  206 , method  500  is one embodiment of managing the vaccination cycle  208  and method  700  is one embodiment of managing finalization  210 . The automated tasks of method  200  provide lower labor cost, lower risk of error in recording and analyzing vaccination process data, improved reporting ability and lower risk of loss of information.  
         [0037]     As an alternative to a method of BBP vaccination in method  200 , a testing process for tuberculosis infection of the participant is performed annually; the process including injection of a tuberculin and testing for tuberculosis 42-78 hours after the injection.  
         [0038]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart of a method  300  of initializing the vaccination process. Method  300  is one embodiment of initializing  202  the vaccination process.  
         [0039]     Method  300  includes receiving  302  communicable disease data of a participant. One example of a participant is field engineer that is at risk for exposure to one or more blood-borne pathogens.  
         [0040]     Method  300  also includes logging  304  onto a web-based facility for testing competency.  
         [0041]     Method  300  also includes determining  306  if the participation by the participant in the vaccination process is voluntary or not. If the participation is not voluntary, the method ends. If the participation is voluntary, thereafter the method includes logging  308  onto a system using a unique identification of the participant, which is often referred to as a single sign-on (SSO) system.  
         [0042]     In some embodiments the method begins at point “A”  310 .  
         [0043]     Thereafter, the method includes verifying  312  that the participant has not previously completed a vaccination process for the communicable disease.  
         [0044]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart of a method  400  of entering data according to an embodiment in which the communicable disease is Hepatitis B. Method  400  is one embodiment of entering data  206  in  FIG. 2  in which vaccination details are updated.  
         [0045]     Method  400  includes determining whether or not data for a first vaccination, a second vaccination, a third vaccination, or a titer test is to be entered in actions  402 ,  404 ,  406  and  408 , respectively.  
         [0046]     If data for a vaccination is determined to be entered, then the vaccination data is received  410  and stored  412 . In some embodiments, the storing  412  is performed by the communicable disease vaccination data storer  102  in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0047]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart of a method  500  of managing the vaccination cycle for Hepatitis B according to an embodiment. Method  500  is one embodiment of managing the vaccination cycle  208  in  FIG. 2 . Method  500  includes three vaccinations and one titer test.  
         [0048]     Method  500  includes performing  502  one vaccination cycle and then delaying  504  any further vaccinations for thirty days. One embodiment of the vaccination cycle is shown in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0049]     Method  500  includes performing  506  one vaccination cycle and then delaying  508  any further vaccinations for one hundred and eighty days.  
         [0050]     Method  500  includes performing  510  one vaccination cycle and then delaying  512  any further vaccinations for thirty days.  
         [0051]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart of a method  600  of a vaccination cycle for Hepatitis B according to an embodiment. Method  600  is one embodiment of a vaccination cycle that is referenced in actions  502 ,  506  and  510  in method  500 .  
         [0052]     Method  600  includes initializing  602  a record counter of vaccinations. The counter stores the number of vaccinations in a performance of method  600 .  
         [0053]     Method  600  includes sending  604  email or some other form of communication to the participant requesting, prompting notifying and/or reminding the participant to obtain a vaccination. When a 3 rd  or 4 th  email communication is sent to the participant, the email includes a link to a web page that will allow the participant to approve a declination option. Thereafter, method  600  includes delaying  606  any other action for at least seven days.  
         [0054]     Method  600  includes determining  608  whether or not the vaccination of the participant is complete, such as by inquiring with the participant as to whether or not the vaccination is complete, and/or accessing the medical records of the participant to determine if the vaccination of the participant is complete.  
         [0055]     If the vaccination cycle is complete, performance of method  600  includes sending  610  an email of congratulations to the participant and receiving  612  vaccination data.  
         [0056]     If the vaccination cycle is not complete, then performance of the method  600  includes determining  614  if a second email reminder has been sent to the participant, determining  616  if a third email has been sent to the participant and determining  616  if a fourth email has not been sent to the participant. If either determination is true, then the performance of method  600  progresses to updating  620  a record of the participant. In one embodiment of updating  620 , details of the vaccination such as the number of the vaccination (e.g. 1, 2, or 3) in the series, the date of the vaccination, the name and/or social security number of the participant, and the name and phone number of the facility that performed the vaccination are added to a database, such as database  104  in  FIG. 1 . If either determination is true, the record counter of vaccinations is also incremented  622  and performance of method  600  continues with sending  604  email or some other form of communication to the participant.  
         [0057]     If all determinations  614 ,  616  and  618  are false, then performance of the method  600  includes delaying  624  other action in method  600  for 14 days, and determining  626  whether or not the vaccination of the participant is complete, such as by inquiring with the participant as to whether or not the vaccination is complete, and/or accessing the medical records of the participant to determine to the vaccination of the participant is complete. If the vaccination cycle is complete, performance of method  600  includes sending  610  an email of congratulations to the participant and receiving  612  the vaccination data.  
         [0058]     If the vaccination cycle is not complete, performance of the method  600  includes determining  628  if a declination form has been received from the participant and updating  630  a record of the participant. In one embodiment of updating  630 , details of the vaccination such as the number of the vaccination (e.g. 1, 2, or 3) the date of the vaccination, the name and/or social security number of the participant, and the name and phone number of the facility that performed the vaccination are added to a database, such as database  104  in  FIG. 1 . If a declination form has not been received from the participant performance of the method  600  includes notifying  632  a medical center of the absence of the declination form of the participant and updating records to indicate that the participant has defaulted or failed in participation in the vaccination cycle.  
         [0059]      FIG. 7  is a flowchart of a method  700  of managing finalization according to an embodiment. Method  700  is one embodiment of managing finalization  210  in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0060]     Method  700  includes sending  702  email or some other form of communication to the participant requesting, prompting and/or notifying the participant to obtain a blood test of the antibody to a communicable disease for which the participant is to be immunized, such as a communicable disease antibody test, delaying  704  other action in method  700 , and then determining  706  whether or not the antibody test of the participant is complete.  
         [0061]     If completion of the antibody test is not determined, performance of the method  700  includes determining  708  whether or not a first reminder of the antibody test has been sent to the participant.  
         [0062]     If dispatch of the 1 st  reminder is determined, performance of the method  700  returns to the action of sending  702  email or some other form of communication to the participant requesting, prompting and/or notifying the participant to obtain a communicable disease antibody test. If dispatch of the 1 st  reminder is not determined, performance of the method  700  includes in some embodiments, notifying  710  a medical center of the absence of the declination form of the participant and in some embodiments, updating records to indicate that the participant has defaulted or failed in participation in the vaccination cycle and managing  712  vaccination compliance information. One embodiment of managing vaccination compliance information  712  is described in method  8  below.  
         [0063]     If completion of the communicable disease antibody test is determined to have occurred, performance of the method  700  includes receiving  714  vaccination data of the participant and determining  716  whether or not protection from the vaccinated pathogens has been achieved in the participant.  
         [0064]     If protection from the communicable disease has not been achieved, performance of method  700  includes sending  718  an email to the participant requesting the participant to contact the medical center for additional information and directing the participant to restart their vaccination process at step “A.” If protection from the communicable disease has been achieved, performance of the method  700  includes displaying a message of congratulations in a pop-up window and displaying a printable version of data  720 .  
         [0065]     In some embodiments, methods  200 - 800  are implemented as a computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave, that represents a sequence of instructions which, when executed by a processor, such as processor  1204  in  FIG. 12 , cause the processor to perform the respective method. In other embodiments, methods  200 - 800  are implemented as a computer-accessible medium having executable instructions capable of directing a processor, such as processor  1204  in  FIG. 12 , to perform the respective method. In varying embodiments, the medium is a magnetic medium, an electronic medium, or an optical medium.  
         [0066]      FIG. 8  is a flowchart of a method  800  of managing vaccination compliance information according to an embodiment. Method  800  is one embodiment of managing vaccination compliance information  712  in  FIG. 7 .  
         [0067]     Method  800  includes retrieving vaccination data  802 , such as retrieving vaccination data from database  104  in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0068]     Method  800  thereafter includes analyzing  804  the vaccination data to determine compliance with one or more requirements of regulation on vaccination processes. In some examples, the requirements are imposed by the employer of the participant, or other examples the regulation is imposed by a governmental organization such as the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In some embodiments, action  804  is performed by a compliance analyzer  906  in  FIG. 900 .  
         [0069]     Subsequently, method  800  includes presenting  806  the compliance information. In some embodiments, presenting  806  includes presenting data that is suitable for demonstrating compliance with at least one OSHA vaccination regulation and/or compliance with at least one employer vaccination requirements. In various embodiments, presenting can be printing a report, generating and dispatching an email and/or displaying the compliance information on a computer screen.  
       Implementation  
       [0070]     Referring to  FIGS. 9-11 , particular implementations are described in conjunction with the system overview in  FIG. 1  and the methods described in conjunction with  FIGS. 2-8 .  
         [0071]      FIG. 9  is a block diagram of an apparatus  900  to manage a communicable disease vaccination process according to an embodiment. Apparatus  900  solves the need in the art for a more cost effective and reliable system of managing administration of vaccination for communicable disease.  
         [0072]     Apparatus  900  includes a data distributor  902 . In some embodiments, the data distributor  902  distributes data analyzed by the communicable disease vaccination process analyzer  106 . The data describes participation by the participant in the communicable disease vaccination process. In some embodiments, the data distributor  902  queries the database  104  for information such as the dates of vaccinations for individual participants or aggregations of participants, of either participants who are still involved in the vaccine cycle process, or participants that are not involved in the vaccine cycle process.  
         [0073]     In some embodiments, the communicable disease vaccination process analyzer  106  includes a reminder generator  904 . The reminder generator  904  identifies the current date and time as being within a time period to provide at least one reminder of at least one act of compliance in the communicable disease vaccination process for an individual participant.  
         [0074]     In some embodiments, the communicable disease vaccination process analyzer  106  includes a compliance analyzer  906 . The compliance analyzer  906  determines compliance of one or more individual participants with one or more government-required communicable disease vaccination processes. For example, the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety &amp; Health Administration (OSHA) is one governmental organization that regulates, monitors and in some scenarios, requires blood-borne pathogen vaccinations for employers of employees who are at risk of being exposed to blood-borne pathogens, such as Hepatitis B. In some embodiments, compliance includes one or more vaccinations and/or one or blood tests. In some embodiments, the compliance analyzer performs analyzing  804  the vaccination data to determine compliance with one or more requirements or regulation on vaccination processes, in  FIG. 8  above.  
         [0075]     The automated components of apparatus  1000  provide lower labor cost, lower risk of error in recording and analyzing vaccination process data, improved reporting ability and lower risk of loss of information.  
         [0076]      FIG. 10  is a block diagram of an apparatus  1000  to manage a blood-borne pathogens vaccination process in a client/server environment according to an embodiment.  
         [0077]     Apparatus  1000  includes a scheduler  1002  that sends schedule data to an infection prevention program (IPP)  1004 . One example of schedule data is data indicating delays between vaccinations and before a titer test. In some embodiments, IPP  1004  performs methods  200 - 800 .  
         [0078]     System  1000  also includes an IPP database  1006  that sends data to the IPP  1004 . In one embodiment, the IPP database  1006  includes records of the data structure  1100  described below.  
         [0079]     The IPP  1004 , among other tasks, analyzes the schedule and generates email reminder notices Email Notice-1  1008  and Email Notice-2  1010 . In some embodiments Email Notice-1  1008  is addressed to a medical center that is involved in administering one of more of the vaccinations in the vaccination process. Email Notice-2  1010  is addressed to the participant. The email reminder notices  1008  and  1010  are transmitted from the IPP  1004  to an email server  1012 .  
         [0080]     In some embodiments, the email server  1012  transmits the email reminder notices  1008  via the Internet (not shown) to a computer  1014  that is associated with the medical center that is involved in administering one of more of the vaccinations in the vaccination process. In some embodiments, computer  1014  is computer  1202 .  
         [0081]     The email server  1012  also transmits the email reminder notice  1010  via the Internet to a computer  1016  associated with the participant. In some embodiments, computer  1016  is computer  1202 .  
         [0082]     The participant computer  1016  and a computer  1018  associated with an administrator of the communicable disease vaccination process. The participant computer  1016  and the administrator computer  1018  are operatively coupled to the IPP database  1006  and communicate through client/server protocols. The participant computer  1016  and the administrator computer  1018  query the IPP database  1006  through a number of computing devices that support client/server communication that are operatively coupled to each other, such as webserver  1020 , an intranet server  1022  and a single-sign-on (SSO) server  1024 . In some embodiments, computer  1018  is computer  1202 .  
         [0083]     Apparatus  900  components of the storer  102 , the data distributor  902 , the reminder generator  904 , the compliance analyzer  906 , scheduler  1002  and/or IPP  1004 , can be embodied as computer hardware circuitry or as a computer-readable program, or a combination of both. In some embodiments, apparatus  900  and  1000  are implemented in an application service provider (ASP) system.  
         [0084]     More specifically, in the computer-readable program embodiment, the programs can be structured in an object-orientated methodology using an object-oriented language such as Java, Smalltalk or C++, and the programs can be structured in a procedural-orientation using a procedural language such as COBOL or C. The software components communicate in any of a number of means that are well-known to those skilled in the art, such as application program interfaces (API) or interprocess communication techniques such as remote procedure call (RPC), common object request broker architecture (CORBA), Component Object Model (COM), Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM), Distributed System Object Model (DSOM) and Remote Method Invocation (RMI). The components execute on as few as one computer as in computer  1202  in  FIG. 12 , or on at least as many computers as there are components. The software development tools and techniques described in the development of software of systems, method and apparatus for managing an infection prevention program are not exhaustive. Other tools and technologies may be implemented new technologies are introduced.  
         [0085]      FIG. 11  is a diagram of a data structure  1100  for use in managing a communicable disease vaccination process according to an embodiment. In one embodiment, data structure  1100  is implemented in database  104  in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0086]     Data structure  1100  solves the need in the art for a more cost effective and reliable system of managing administration of a communicable disease vaccination process. Data structure  1100  tracks participation in a communicable disease vaccination process, which in turn allows quick access to data of each individual participant or aggregation of participants. Data structure  1100  also reduces the risk of governmental fines for non-compliance with vaccination regulations.  
         [0087]     Data structure  1100  includes locations to store data representing or pointing to a unique identifier of a participant  1102 , a last name  1104  and a first name  1106  of the participant in the vaccination process. These data fields allow each instance of the data structure  1100  to be associated with the vaccination data that follows.  
         [0088]     Data structure  1100  includes locations to store data representing or pointing to a date  1108  and a name  1110  and a phone number  1112  of a medical facility and/or physician of which the first vaccination was performed.  
         [0089]     Data structure  1100  includes locations to store data representing or pointing to a date  1114  of declination of participation in the vaccination process.  
         [0090]     Data structure  1100  includes locations to store data representing or pointing to a date  1116  and a name  1118  and a phone number  1120  of a medical facility and/or physician of which the second vaccination was performed.  
         [0091]     Data structure  1100  includes locations to store data representing or pointing to a date  1122  and a name  1124  and a phone number  1126  of a medical facility and/or physician of which the third vaccination was performed.  
         [0092]     Data structure  1100  includes locations to store data representing or pointing to a date  1128  and a name  1130  and a phone number  1132  of a medical facility and/or physician of which a titer test was performed.  
         [0093]     Data structure  1100  includes locations to store data representing or pointing to at least one test result  1134  of vaccination protection from the communicable disease of interest in the vaccination process.  
       Hardware and Operating Environment  
       [0094]      FIG. 12  is a block diagram of the hardware and operating environment  1200  in which different embodiments can be practiced. The description of  FIG. 12  provides an overview of computer hardware and a suitable computing environment in conjunction with which some embodiments can be implemented. Embodiments are described in terms of a computer executing computer-executable instructions. However, some embodiments can be implemented entirely in computer hardware in which the computer-executable instructions are implemented in read-only memory. Some embodiments can also be implemented in client/server computing environments where remote devices that perform tasks are linked through a communications network. Program modules can be located in both local and remote memory storage devices in a distributed computing environment.  
         [0095]     Computer  1202  includes a processor  1204 , commercially available from Intel, Motorola, Cyrix and others. Computer  1202  also includes random-access memory (RAM)  1206 , read-only memory (ROM)  1208 , and one or more mass storage devices  1210 , and a system bus  1212 , that operatively couples various system components to the processing unit  1204 . The memory  1206 ,  1208 , and mass storage devices,  1210 , are types of computer-accessible media. Mass storage devices  1210  are more specifically types of nonvolatile computer-accessible media and can include one or more hard disk drives, floppy disk drives, optical disk drives, and tape cartridge drives. The processor  1204  executes computer programs stored on the computer-accessible media.  
         [0096]     Computer  1202  can be communicatively connected to the Internet  1214  via a communication device  1216 . Internet  1214  connectivity is well known within the art. In one embodiment, a communication device  1216  is a modem that responds to communication drivers to connect to the Internet via what is known in the art as a “dial-up connection.” In another embodiment, a communication device  1216  is an Ethernet® or similar hardware network card connected to a local-area network (LAN) that itself is connected to the Internet via what is known in the art as a “direct connection” (e.g., T1 line, etc.).  
         [0097]     A user enters commands and information into the computer  1202  through input devices such as a keyboard  1218  or a pointing device  1220 . The keyboard  1218  permits entry of textual information into computer  1202 , as known within the art, and embodiments are not limited to any particular type of keyboard. Pointing device  1220  permits the control of the screen pointer provided by a graphical user interface (GUI) of operating systems such as versions of Microsoft Windows®. Embodiments are not limited to any particular pointing device  1220 . Such pointing devices include mice, touch pads, trackballs, remote controls and point sticks. Other input devices (not shown) can include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like.  
         [0098]     In some embodiments, computer  1202  is operatively coupled to a display device  1222 . Display device  1222  is connected to the system bus  1212 . Display device  1222  permits the display of information, including computer, video and other information, for viewing by a user of the computer. Embodiments are not limited to any particular display device  1222 . Such display devices include cathode ray tube (CRT) displays (monitors), as well as flat panel displays such as liquid crystal displays (LCD&#39;s). In addition to a monitor, computers typically include other peripheral input/output devices such as printers (not shown). Speakers  1224  and  1226  provide audio output of signals. Speakers  1224  and  1226  are also connected to the system bus  1212 .  
         [0099]     Computer  1202  also includes an operating system (not shown) that is stored on the computer-accessible media RAM  1206 , ROM  1208 , and mass storage device  1210 , and is and executed by the processor  1204 . Examples of operating systems include Microsoft Windows®, Apple MacOS®, Linux®, UNIX®. Examples are not limited to any particular operating system, however, and the construction and use of such operating systems are well known within the art.  
         [0100]     Embodiments of computer  1202  are not limited to any type of computer  1202 . In varying embodiments, computer  1202  comprises a PC-compatible computer, a MacOS®-compatible computer, a Linux®-compatible computer, or a UNIX®-compatible computer. The construction and operation of such computers are well known within the art.  
         [0101]     Computer  1202  can be operated using at least one operating system to provide a graphical user interface (GUI) including a user-controllable pointer. Computer  1202  can have at least one web browser application program executing within at least one operating system, to permit users of computer  1202  to access an intranet, extranet or Internet world-wide-web pages as addressed by Universal Resource Locator (URL) addresses. Examples of browser application programs include Netscape Navigator® and Microsoft Internet Explorer®.  
         [0102]     The computer  1202  can operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as remote computer  1228 . These logical connections are achieved by a communication device coupled to, or a part of, the computer  1202 . Embodiments are not limited to a particular type of communications device. The remote computer  1228  can be another computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a client, a peer device or other common network node. The logical connections depicted in  FIG. 12  include a local-area network (LAN)  1230  and a wide-area network (WAN)  1232 . Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets, extranets and the Internet.  
         [0103]     When used in a LAN-networking environment, the computer  1202  and remote computer  1228  are connected to the local network  1230  through network interfaces or adapters  1234 , which is one type of communications device  1216 . Remote computer  1228  also includes a network device  1236 . When used in a conventional WAN-networking environment, the computer  1202  and remote computer  1228  communicate with a WAN  1232  through modems (not shown). The modem, which can be internal or external, is connected to the system bus  1212 . In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer  1202 , or portions thereof, can be stored in the remote computer  1228 .  
         [0104]     Computer  1202  also includes power supply  1238 . Each power supply can be a battery.  
       CONCLUSION  
       [0105]     An infection prevention program has been described. Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement which is calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations. For example, although described in procedural terms, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that implementations can be made in an object-oriented design environment or any other design environment that provides the required relationships.  
         [0106]     In particular, one of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the names of the methods and apparatus are not intended to limit embodiments. Furthermore, additional methods and apparatus can be added to the components, functions can be rearranged among the components, and new components to correspond to future enhancements and physical devices used in embodiments can be introduced without departing from the scope of embodiments. One of skill in the art will readily recognize that embodiments are applicable to future communication devices, different file systems, and new data types.  
         [0107]     The terminology used in this application with respect to client server protocols is meant to include all database and communication environments and alternate technologies which provide the same functionality as described herein.