Covid vax recording?

[happi duck]

I received my vaccination through my medical group.  (It wasn't at my doctor's office but at a center set up for covid vaccinations only.). My vaccination immediately became part of my medical record.

For people who received the vaccine at a pharmacy, drive-thru etc, where did that get recorded?  How does it end up in one's medical record?  Or does it?

Just curious!

[ktgrok]

1 minute ago, happi duck said:

I received my vaccination through my medical group.  (It wasn't at my doctor's office but at a center set up for covid vaccinations only.). My vaccination immediately became part of my medical record.

For people who received the vaccine at a pharmacy, drive-thru etc, where did that get recorded?  How does it end up in one's medical record?  Or does it?

Just curious!

It depends on the state. In florida it goes into a state database. 

[Pawz4me]

We have a state database here (NC). I assume at my next appointment with one of my providers (my PCP and specialist belong to the same hospital/health group) it will be added to my medical record. 

[TheReader]

Varies by state, as Katie said. In TX, there is a state database, but you must give permission for your vaccine record to be added. 

[TheReader]

I also assume anyone can/should take their vaccine card to their regular primary care doctor and have a copy of it added to their medical record there, as a back-up. 

[Ditto]

We took our vaccination cards to our regular providers and had them scan them into our medical records.   Later I checked the online portal for each of us to be sure they were there, and they were.   It was easy.  The hardest part was remembering to take them with us because I have them locked in our safe.

[Ditto]

50 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

We have a state database here (NC). I assume at my next appointment with one of my providers (my PCP and specialist belong to the same hospital/health group) it will be added to my medical record. 

Do not assume this.  My state also has a database and our cards were NOT added automatically.  The database isn't linked to the medical records, it is a separate thing.

[J-rap]

I had a doctor appointment last week, and as the nurse was checking me in, she said there was a flag on my chart showing that a new vaccination was ready to be uploaded.  So she clicked on it, and all my Covid vaccine info was instantly transferred to my medical chart!  Apparently in our state, the information somehow gets recorded on a state database.    

I noticed my dh's was not yet listed on his online chart, so it seems like it might be something that he needs to call to their attention or give his "OK" at his next appointment. 

[Pawz4me]

29 minutes ago, Ditto said:

Do not assume this.  My state also has a database and our cards were NOT added automatically.  The database isn't linked to the medical records, it is a separate thing.

Sorry for any confusion, but I didn't mean to imply that I thought it would automatically be added by merging from the state database. I know that won't happen, or at least I can't begin to imagine how it would even be possible. What I meant was that it will probably be exactly like what happens with the flu vaccine -- For example, let's say I go see my PCP in January and she says "Did you get the flu vaccine recently?" And I say "Yes, I got it at Walgreen's in October." And then she adds that to my record. I don't see any reason Covid vaccinations won't be handled the same way, but of course I can bring my card along as proof, or show her the copy on my phone if that's required. My point is that I don't think it will be any problem to get it added. If I weren't lazy I could probably upload an image of my card through the portal right now, but I think it would just sit there until my next visit, when the provider would release it into my record. I know I can update my insurance info that way.

Edited May 18, 2021 by Pawz4me

[Storygirl]

We told our primary care physicians at the next visit, and they typed it into our charts. Neither the pediatrician nor my PCP asked to see the vaccination card; they just accepted the dates that I told them.

[Spy Car]

I was told by the nurse when I got vaxxed that the record would go to the state and the state would forward it to my health group to become part of my medical record. But because I got the shot through my health provider, that information went into my medical record directly. We checked. In CA.

Bill

[kbutton]

Mine in Ohio went into a state database, and my new family doctor could see it. I wouldn't assume all offices are that connected, and I assume there is a bit of a lag with recording. My shot was at CVS.

For my son's shots, we took a copy of the card to the pediatrician, and they took down numbers and other specifics to put in his chart. We do this for flu shots and such too as my kids prefer to get their shots through The Little Clinic.

[Corraleno]

I got my shots at a Kroger pharmacy that I had never used before (so I was not in their system and they have no history of prescriptions for me) and a few days later when I was checking my healthcare provider portal for test results I saw that the vaccine info was already there. I just assumed it was reported by my insurance company, because I'm not sure how the state would have known who my doctor was and I didn't provide that info to the pharmacy. So the only folks who had access to both the vaccine info and my healthcare provider info was my insurance company.

ETA: Both of my kids booked their shots through their main healthcare portals (MyHealth for DD, MyChart for DS), so all the info was automatically in their portal.

Edited May 18, 2021 by Corraleno

[Bootsie]

I received my vaccine at a COVID vaccine clinic.  I went to my primary care physician last week.  The nurse asked, "have you had your covid vaccines?"  I said yes, and when she asked when I started answer March... and she said, "Oh, I'll just put March 1, that's close enough..."  I just looked at my medical record and it now says that I received Janssen on March 1, 2021 (not the correct date) with nothing about place of administration, who administered it, lot number of anything.  

[Loowit]

DH, DD, and I got ours at a pharmacy.  Mine showed up in my online record for my doctor's clinic within a few days.  The forms we had to fill out asked for the name of our PCP, if we have one, and if they could notify them of the vaccine.  It also had a place to initial acknowledging that the vaccine would be recorded with the state, that was not optional.

I have not seen DS's show up in his chart yet, but his was done at a different pharmacy and it may take a while.  If it doesn't, I will just let them know he has had it at his next doctor's visit. Other DS got his at a medical clinic, but not our usual one, so I would guess it is in his chart, but not sure.  We can have it added if we need to at this next appointment.

[Ailaena]

2 hours ago, TheReader said:

Varies by state, as Katie said. In TX, there is a state database, but you must give permission for your vaccine record to be added. 

Ha! Exact opposite in CO - all vaccines reported, we have to opt out of database.  

[HS Mom in NC]

I got mine at the local Walmart pharmacy where I haven't gotten any prescriptions or vaccines before. It was automatically registered with the state registry in NC, and the paperwork when I got it asked if I wanted that info. sent to my primary care doc. Also, I have my COVID vax card, so I assume I could take to my doc's office if I want and have them copy and record it. I probably will at my annual check up later this summer.

ETA: My tetanus shot I got because of a deep puncture wound when gardening in my woodland garden this last winter was also automatically recorded with the state registry.

Edited May 18, 2021 by Homeschool Mom in AZ

[SKL]

No idea.  I keep track of those things myself.

[Sherry in OH]

I was vaccinated at a city-sponsored clinic.  The data was loaded to a state database, but I as I was not asked to provide insurance or primary care physician information, my physician was not notified.  During my last primary care visit, the nurse keyed the information from my vaccination card into my medical record.  I assume that if the doctor has reason to question the validity of my vaccination card she could verify it against the state database.

Dh was vaccinated at his usual pharmacy.  The pharmacy reported his vaccination to both the medical insurance company and his primary care physician.  The same is supposed to occur with our teens' records.  I will take their vaccination cards as backups when I take them for their annual physicals.  

[rebcoola]

We got our at a mass vax site.  Besides the cards we received an email record of the shot.  It hasn't shown up on our state record database but that may be because I've never done the real verification just the auto match.  

[regentrude]

I uploaded an image of my vaccination to my doctor's patient portal and requested it to be added to my record. I received confirmation within the hour that it was done.

The vaccine is also recorded by the entity that gave it , a local hospital. 

Edited May 18, 2021 by regentrude

[Matryoshka]

I got mine done at one of the mass vax sites, and I had to enter all my info, including insurance and PCP info ahead of time online - after I got it, in addition to the little white card, I got an email confirming I'd been vaxxed for the second time and the date.  So I'm guessing this is all in a database, and may have been also sent to my PCP?  Have an appointment with her next week - I will ask if it's been added to her records...

[HeartString]

My husband and I did ours at a mass site.  Only our names, address and DOBs were given.  No ID, no PCP.   

[Catwoman]

2 hours ago, Corraleno said:

I got my shots at a Kroger pharmacy that I had never used before (so I was not in their system and they have no history of prescriptions for me) and a few days later when I was checking my healthcare provider portal for test results I saw that the vaccine info was already there. I just assumed it was reported by my insurance company, because I'm not sure how the state would have known who my doctor was and I didn't provide that info to the pharmacy. So the only folks who had access to both the vaccine info and my healthcare provider info was my insurance company.

ETA: Both of my kids booked their shots through their main healthcare portals (MyHealth for DD, MyChart for DS), so all the info was automatically in their portal.

I haven’t even thought to check to see if my vaccination info is on my health portal — I just figured that I have the vaccination card from our city health department and I’ll let my doctor know I had the vaccine the next time I have an appointment, but now I’m going to check my portal (and dh’s and ds’s) and see if the info has magically appeared.

[Matryoshka]

23 minutes ago, HeartString said:

My husband and I did ours at a mass site.  Only our names, address and DOBs were given.  No ID, no PCP.   

Yeah, we had to not only give all that info on the online app before going, we also had to show ID at the actual site before they'd give us the shot. 

Didn't you have to give insurance info, so they could charge your insurance?  Or is your state just paying for all these vaxes out of pocket?

[HeartString]

5 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

Yeah, we had to not only give all that info on the online app before going, we also had to show ID at the actual site before they'd give us the shot. 

Didn't you have to give insurance info, so they could charge your insurance?  Or is your state just paying for all these vaxes out of pocket?

No insurance which I was surprised about.  I had expected them to want that but they never asked.  That section on the online portal was even greyed out. 
They didn’t want it at the hospital site my son used either. 

Edited May 18, 2021 by HeartString

[Matryoshka]

2 minutes ago, HeartString said:

No insurance which I was surprised about.  I had expected them to want that but they never asked.  That section on the online portal was even greyed out. 
They didn’t want it at the hospital site my son used either. 

Wow, what state are you in?  They must be really committed to keeping who's actually been vaxxed a big secret if they're not even billing insurance companies and footing the whole bill themselves.   Here you can get it for free even if you don't have insurance, but if you do, you better believe they're going to get them to pay it instead (and if you do that, it's one more place that this info has been recorded).

[stephanier.1765]

4 hours ago, ktgrok said:

It depends on the state. In florida it goes into a state database. 

That's good to know. I was vaccinated at Walmart but my doctor is on a military installation. I sent him a note via the patient portal notifying him of my vaccine status as well as including a jpg of my vaccination card but it's a relief to know there is a database with all that information in case my note isn't sufficient.

ETA: this thread made me curious so I went to my patient portal and there was a note from the doctor's office saying the image of my vaccine card had been added to my chart.

Edited May 18, 2021 by stephanier.1765

[Elfknitter.#]

I did mine at a mass site. Once both shots were done, I emailed my PCP a copy of my card and it was added to my medical record.

My teens had their done with our health provider, so it was automatically to their records.

[Bootsie]

2 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

Wow, what state are you in?  They must be really committed to keeping who's actually been vaxxed a big secret if they're not even billing insurance companies and footing the whole bill themselves.   Here you can get it for free even if you don't have insurance, but if you do, you better believe they're going to get them to pay it instead (and if you do that, it's one more place that this info has been recorded).

It is my understanding that an administration fee can be charged for the vaccine, but that the vaccine cost itself is not billed to the insurance.  DH was vaccinated at a CVS, they asked for insurance info when he registered, but nothing has come acrross our insurance in over two months, so I do not know if any administrative fee will be billed.  I was vaccinated at a one-day clinic that did not ask for insurance information.   I do not know if that type of clinic is funded in some way that they cannot seek reimbursement or if just isn't practical in that the overhead to bill multiple insurance companies for administering 300 vaccines was just too muck.  

[rebcoola]

No ID, PCP or insurance entered here either. So that maybe why it's not showing up in the state registry.  

[Matryoshka]

10 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

It is my understanding that an administration fee can be charged for the vaccine, but that the vaccine cost itself is not billed to the insurance.  DH was vaccinated at a CVS, they asked for insurance info when he registered, but nothing has come acrross our insurance in over two months, so I do not know if any administrative fee will be billed.  I was vaccinated at a one-day clinic that did not ask for insurance information.   I do not know if that type of clinic is funded in some way that they cannot seek reimbursement or if just isn't practical in that the overhead to bill multiple insurance companies for administering 300 vaccines was just too muck.  

I just checked my state's FAQ - here they are indeed billing insurance for at least the cost of administering the vax, if not the vax itself (it's a bit vague on what exactly is being billed, but here they are definitely billing your insurance if you have it).  Still not sure why your state wants to take all these costs (and there obviously are some) on itself rather than sharing with insurance companies.

From the FAQ:

The vaccine is being provided free of charge to all individuals by the federal government.  Health insurance (including Medicare and Medicaid) will cover the cost of administering the vaccine.  For patients without health insurance, health care providers may request reimbursement from the federal government for the cost of administering vaccine

Edited May 18, 2021 by Matryoshka

[prairiewindmomma]

We went to a community drive-thru event, and all vaccines were recorded electronically directly into our charts. This wasn't required---you could show up without id or insurance--but if you offered it up, they recorded for you. I appreciate that they tally that for us; it has made submitting vaccine records to university and public schools easy. We can just print off and go. (Ds's university is requiring proof of vaccination or medical excusal for the fall, so I anticipate this will be true for my other kids in the future as well.)

[Bootsie]

1 minute ago, Matryoshka said:

I just checked my state's FAQ - here they are indeed billing insurance for at least the cost of administering the vax, if not the vax itself (it's a bit vague on what exactly is being billed, but here they are definitely billing your insurance if you have it).  Still not sure why your state wants to take all these costs (and there obviously are some) on itself rather than sharing with insurance companies.

From the FAQ:

The vaccine itself is free for all individuals in Massachusetts.  Health insurance (including Medicare and Medicaid) will cover the cost of administering the vaccine.  For patients without health insurance, health care providers may request reimbursement from the federal government for the cost of administering vaccine

I am not sure that it is the state that is absorbing the administration costs.  From what I can tell about your quote, health care providers can request reimbursement, which is different from the state seeking reimbursemnt.  I read that as XYZ pharmacy or ABC medical clinic that gives vaccines may request reimbursement.  Here we had FEMA clinics administering vaccines.  Or, a university might administer a vaccine but that would be students from different states with different insurances; it may take more than the $30 or so that was the vaccine administration reimbursement rate to file all of the paperwork to get reimbursed for administering 300 vaccines.  

[Matryoshka]

2 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

I am not sure that it is the state that is absorbing the administration costs.  From what I can tell about your quote, health care providers can request reimbursement, which is different from the state seeking reimbursemnt.  I read that as XYZ pharmacy or ABC medical clinic that gives vaccines may request reimbursement.  Here we had FEMA clinics administering vaccines.  Or, a university might administer a vaccine but that would be students from different states with different insurances; it may take more than the $30 or so that was the vaccine administration reimbursement rate to file all of the paperwork to get reimbursed for administering 300 vaccines.  

No, it says health care providers can request reimbursement from the federal government only if you don't have insurance to bill.  So, in your state then you think the CVS or individual health care providers are absorbing the costs themselves?   Or if your state doesn't want a record of vaxes given (it seems so?), then they're reimbursing instead of the federal government?  Or do you think the federal govt says they'll reimburse states who just don't feel like bothering with insurance?  That seems inconsistent and unfair.

The mass vax sites, like I went to, are put on by the state and so I'd think the state would be the ones footing the bill if no insurance was billed.

If you think this is 'too hard', I find it weird that this is such a non-problem here and too onerous to administer where you are.  Places have to bill all kinds of insurance from all over the country for every single thing every patient comes in for.  Your argument, say, that a university can't manage to bill insurance from out-of-state students - well, they will bill that exact same insurance company for anything else that student came in for - birth control, a hangnail, antibiotics - they do it for everything already.  Same with CVS - I go in to fill a prescription, they bill whatever insurance I have, just the same as they're doing with this vax. The system is already in place.  There is nothing special about this.

[Bootsie]

13 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

No, it says health care providers can request reimbursement from the federal government only if you don't have insurance to bill.  So, in your state then you think the CVS or individual health care providers are absorbing the costs themselves?   Or if your state doesn't want a record of vaxes given (it seems so?), then they're reimbursing instead of the federal government?  Or do you think the federal govt says they'll reimburse states who just don't feel like bothering with insurance?  That seems inconsistent and unfair.

The mass vax sites, like I went to, are put on by the state and so I'd think the state would be the ones footing the bill if no insurance was billed.

If you think this is 'too hard', I find it weird that this is such a non-problem here and too onerous to administer where you are.  Places have to bill all kinds of insurance from all over the country for every single thing every patient comes in for.  Your argument, say, that a university can't manage to bill insurance from out-of-state students - well, they will bill that exact same insurance company for anything else that student came in for - birth control, a hangnail, antibiotics - they do it for everything already.  Same with CVS - I go in to fill a prescription, they bill whatever insurance I have, just the same as they're doing with this vax. The system is already in place.  There is nothing special about this.

Yes it says tht the health care providers may request administrative reimbursement if there is not insurance; it does not in any way imply that a state is absorbing any costs. I was addressing this "Still not sure why your state wants to take all these costs (and there obviously are some) on itself rather than sharing with insurance companies."  I was assuming that you meant the state (and not health care providers in my state); I do not know that may state is taking on any of these costs.

As far as health care providers, I do not know what they are doing.  I know that DH was asked for insurance info when he reigstered for the vaccine and I know that it has not shown up on the insurance yet (and it has been over 2 months).

I was vaccinated at a clinic at my university-employer.  I was not asked for any insurance info.  I don't know who bore the cost of administration and what the possibility would have been for administrative fees to be collected by insurance companies.  Because the employer self-insures medical care, and because 300 vaccines were given, the administrative infrastructure needed to bill insurance for administrative fees probably wouldn't make financial sense. 

 

[Ditto]

8 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

Sorry for any confusion, but I didn't mean to imply that I thought it would automatically be added by merging from the state database. I know that won't happen, or at least I can't begin to imagine how it would even be possible. What I meant was that it will probably be exactly like what happens with the flu vaccine -- For example, let's say I go see my PCP in January and she says "Did you get the flu vaccine recently?" And I say "Yes, I got it at Walgreen's in October." And then she adds that to my record. I don't see any reason Covid vaccinations won't be handled the same way, but of course I can bring my card along as proof, or show her the copy on my phone if that's required. My point is that I don't think it will be any problem to get it added. If I weren't lazy I could probably upload an image of my card through the portal right now, but I think it would just sit there until my next visit, when the provider would release it into my record. I know I can update my insurance info that way.

Thank you for clarifying.  

One thing that I think makes this one different from the flu is the fact there are several different kinds.  Making sure the correct vaccine got added is important.  Our providers have been clear that they want the cards themselves scanned into the chart, not just the info.  But that could vary widely between providers.   

[HeartString]

6 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

Wow, what state are you in?  They must be really committed to keeping who's actually been vaxxed a big secret if they're not even billing insurance companies and footing the whole bill themselves.   Here you can get it for free even if you don't have insurance, but if you do, you better believe they're going to get them to pay it instead (and if you do that, it's one more place that this info has been recorded).

Virginia.  I have no idea how it’s being paid for or recorded.  I wasn’t in my county either.  I guess I should find out more about that…

[Bootsie]

1 hour ago, Ditto said:

Thank you for clarifying.  

One thing that I think makes this one different from the flu is the fact there are several different kinds.  Making sure the correct vaccine got added is important.  Our providers have been clear that they want the cards themselves scanned into the chart, not just the info.  But that could vary widely between providers.   

Aren't there different producers of flu vaccines each year?  Are they similar enough that they aren't considered different kinds?

[ScoutTN]

12 hours ago, TheReader said:

I also assume anyone can/should take their vaccine card to their regular primary care doctor and have a copy of it added to their medical record there, as a back-up. 

This! 

[ktgrok]

 

 

16 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

No, it says health care providers can request reimbursement from the federal government only if you don't have insurance to bill.  So, in your state then you think the CVS or individual health care providers are absorbing the costs themselves? 

Probably. I don't think it varies by state, but by individual pharmacy, etc. But filing insurance claims is a PIA and they may find it isn't worth the time/paperwork and eat that cost, figuring they make it up by more traffic into the store, etc?

I was vaccinated at a FEMA mass vaccination site. Thousands of vaccinations per day would have taken a bunch more staff to file insurance,and slowed down the line to get everyone's insurance info? 

Now, for my Covid test, when I "pre registered" on the county testing website it did ask for insurance info. I don't remember for sure, but I am almost positive the county vaccine website didn't ask for that info. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. 

I did show ID, although I'm sure they had a process if you didn't have one. Our license has a swipe strip thing on it, so they ran it through a card reader, had me verify who I was, etc so I guess that is how it got on the state database.