What is LINK?

The Los Angeles-Orange Immunization Network (LINK) is the immunization registry for Los Angeles and Orange counties. Immunization registries are secure web-based systems used by doctors and other health care providers to maintain the immunization information for their patients.

The goal of LINK is to improve the tracking and delivery of immunization services so that all residents of Los Angeles and Orange Counties get the immunizations they need at the right time. LINK keeps a person's immunization record in one place, even if they see many providers. Doctors and other health care providers can then access LINK to see the updated immunization record, which makes it easier for them to know when a person needs immunizations and which immunizations are needed.

LINK is a partnership between the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the Orange County Health Care Agency, the City of Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, and the City of Pasadena Public Health Department. Immunization Registries like LINK are being implemented throughout California and in all 50 states.

Why is LINK needed?

Within the LINK region (Los Angeles and Orange counties), there are over 6,500 providers of childhood immunizations, 1.25 million children under the age of six, and 200,000 births each year. While a lot of progress has been made, immunization rates in the region are still below 80% and there are several geographical areas that have much lower rates. In addition, the childhood immunization schedule is complex and changes frequently. This can make it difficult for health care providers to determine what immunizations each patient needs. Also, families often move, change doctors, or lose their immunization records (yellow cards), making records difficult to keep up-to-date. LINK can help address these challenges by maintaining updated immunization records in one central location and providing tools to help improve immunization services and assess immunization coverage rates. Making sure that people are immunized helps prevent diseases within our community. LINK can also be of great benefit during emergency events, such as during Hurricane Katrina.

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What does LINK do?

LINK helps doctors track immunizations and provides many tools to help doctors provide quality immunization services to their patients. LINK is also used by schools, daycare facilities, and other agencies that help protect our community from disease. Some of the features of LINK include:

• Keeps an updated immunization record in one central place that can be accessed by approved doctors and agencies
• Allows doctors/agencies to retrieve and update immunization records at the time of the patient's visit.
• Automatically determines the immunizations a patient needs at each visit based on the most up-to-date state and national recommendations.
• Can be used to maintain immunization records for any age individual, so it can be used for childhood as well as adult and travel immunization activities.
• Prints an official copy of the California Immunization Record ("yellow card") for parents as well as the official California School Immunization Record ("blue card") used by schools.
• Prints reminder postcards for doctors to send to their patients.
• Tracks any adverse reactions or contraindications patients may have to specific vaccines.
• Produces reports that help doctors manage their immunization services and vaccine inventory.
• Helps respond to emergency events such as vaccine recalls or natural disasters.

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Who can use LINK?

• Health Care Providers who give immunizations use LINK to track the immunizations of their patients and make sure patients get the immunizations they need at the right time. These providers include health department-based clinics, non-profit/community clinics, private medical practices, and hospitals.
• Schools, Daycare Programs, and Camps use LINK to determine if a child has received the appropriate immunizations needed for enrollment.
• Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Programs use LINK to provide referrals to parents so that their children's immunizations will be up-to-date.
• State/County Foster Care Agencies use LINK to make sure all children in foster care have up-to-date immunizations.
• California Work Opportunity Program (CalWORKs) use LINK to provide referrals to parents so that their children's immunizations will be up-to-date.
• State and Local Health Departments use LINK to help assess immunization coverage in Los Angeles and Orange counties and to determine where resources may be needed to improve immunization services.
• Health Plans monitor the immunization services of their participating doctors, provide education and support to improve doctors' immunization services, and provide reimbursement to doctors for the immunizations they give to patients.

Participation in LINK provides many benefits to the health care providers and other agencies listed above, as well as parents and families. To see a detailed explanation of these benefits, click here.

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