Overview of Meaningful Use and Immunization Reporting

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) renamed the Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs, the Promoting Interoperability Programs. For consistency with New York State Meaningful Use Registration for Public Health (MURPH) System, the CIR will continue to refer to the programs as Meaningful Use.


Beginning in 2019, eligible professionals and hospitals attesting to Meaningful Use must be in compliance with Stage 3 requirements, which were updated in the 2019 final rule.

All eligible professionals and hospitals are required to use 2015 edition certified electronic health record (EHR) technology to meet the requirements of the Meaningful Use programs.

For more information on all program requirements, visit the CMS website.

Requirements for Immunization Registry Reporting Measure

Stage 3 Requirements

To be eligible for the Immunization Registry Reporting measure for Meaningful Use Stage 3, eligible professionals and hospitals located in New York City must administer immunizations. They must also be actively engaged with the CIR to submit immunization data and receive immunization forecasts and histories, also referred to as bidirectional data exchange.

If eligible professionals and hospitals are qualified for the Immunization Registry Reporting measure they must have registered intent to submit data on the Health Commerce System website for the Meaningful Use Registration for Public Health within 60 days of the start of the EHR reporting period, and they must be in an active engagement status with the CIR at the end of the EHR reporting period. This reporting period is a continuous, 90-day period within the calendar year that is indicated during attestation.

Stage 3 Process

  1. CIR Facility Code: Each practice location that is eligible for the Immunization Registry Reporting measure must have a CIR facility code. The CIR facility code is a unique identifier associated with the practice location required to exchange immunization data with the CIR.

    The CIR facility code is also used to verify compliance for active engagement levels. If you do not know your CIR facility code or do not have one, enter your information on the registration page for verification to obtain your facility code.

  2. Confidentiality Form: Every facility is required to complete a copy of the CIR’s health care provider confidentiality statement (PDF). Email this form to cir_interop@health.nyc.gov

  3. Meaningful Use Public Health Reporting Registration: Register your intent to submit immunization data for Meaningful Use on the Health Commerce System website by following the directions on the Meaningful Use Public Health Reporting (MURPH) website.

    If you have already registered for Meaningful Use, you do not need to re-register your intent. Avoid duplicate registrations. For more assistance, email MUPublicHealthHELP@health.ny.gov or call 1-877-646-5410 and select option three.

  4. Certified EHR Technology 2015 product: Ensure that you are using a 2015 edition Certified EHR Technology product. Check if your EHR product has met the 2015 edition certification for transmission to immunization registries.

  5. Open a ticket with your EHR vendor: Reach out to your EHR vendor to request a Meaningful Use Stage 3 compliant bidirectional interface that meets CIR Meaningful Use requirements listed in the CIR Meaningful Use Checklist (PDF) and the CIR HL7 Implementation Guide (PDF).

For any questions about Meaningful Use testing with the CIR, send the following information to the CIR at MUtracking@health.nyc.gov.

All fields are required.

  • Health Care Practice Name Requesting Meaningful Use testing
  • Health Care Practice Address
  • EHR Software Name (indicate if product is a 2014 or 2015 edition Certified EHR Technology)
  • CIR Facility Code
  • Primary Contact Name
  • Primary Contact Email
  • Primary Contact Phone Number

Stage 3 Active Engagement

To achieve active engagement for ongoing submission, eligible professionals or hospitals must provide the following Health Level 7 data elements:

  • Adult Patient Consent:If your practice administers vaccines to patients 19 and older, document consent to report their immunization data in your EHR.
  • Next of Kin: For pediatric patients 18 and under, document parent information.
  • Patient Phone Numbers.
  • Vaccine for Children Participants: For Vaccine for Children participants, there are two data elements that should be reported for every pediatric patient:
    • Vaccine for Children Program Eligibility: The patient’s Vaccine for Children eligibility status.
    • Vaccine Funding Source: The funding source, whether public or private funds, used for the vaccine being administered.
  • National Drug Codes: For new immunization administrations the National Drug Code, located on the immunization box or vile, must be included.
  • Query CIR for Patient’s Immunization History and Forecasting.

Meaningful Use Registration for Public Health System

The purpose of the MURPH system is to allow eligible hospitals and professionals to declare their intent to submit data to the New York State and NYC Departments of Health in support of the Meaningful Use Public Health Reporting Objective.

The MURPH system now has a self-service option to generate an Audit Report Card of active engagement statuses by eligible professionals. The Audit Report Card is a new feature of the MURPH system. This feature allows eligible professionals and their representatives easy access to a report of their public health status history for all of the public health registries that have registered intent to submit data.

For MURPH system questions call 877-646-5410 and select option three (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.), or email MUPublicHealthHELP@health.ny.gov.

Meaningful Use Audit Requests and Status Letters

To request an audit or status letter, email mutracking@health.nyc.gov with the following:

  • Practice name and address
  • CIR facility code
  • Audit Year or EHR Reporting Period
  • Primary contact name, email and phone number
  • EHR software name and version number

A member of the CIR Meaningful Use Tracking team will respond within three to five business days.

Additional Resources

  • Eligible Professional MURPH Registration Video Guide
  • Eligible Hospital MURPH Registration Video Guide
  • Certified EHR Vendors (PDF)
  • CIR Meaningful Use Checklist (PDF)
  • More Information