Electronic Data Transfer:  ALERT Fixed-Length File Requirements

Below are the descriptions of the four fixed-length test file formats that ALERT uses. The basic formats are for demographics and immunizations. In addition we have defined a “duplicates” format as a way for you to send information about duplicates that you identify within your data. Also, we have an “alias name” format for patients that are known by multiple names. For purposes of data transfer, we can accept multiple instances of addresses and telephone numbers for each entry, we have included space for two addresses and two telephone numbers in the layout. If you collect more than two of either, please contact us and we will discuss alternative ways of transmitting the information. In the descriptions below we identify the field, a type (text, numeric, or date), the length in bytes, and a brief description. The field sizes shown are not necessarily the sizes of the fields in the ALERT database. If a fixed format file is used, text fields should be right-padded with blanks, as necessary. Numeric fields should contain only digits or blanks, right justified, leading zeros are optional. Date fields should conform to the ISO standard format YYYYMMDD (4 digit years, please).

1. Demographic Data
Data Elements	Field Type	Field Size	Description
ID	Text	32	Client system’s identifier for child.
Demographic Record Flags	Numeric	2	01 = Do not want this child in active list.
Restrictions	Numeric	2	Numeric codes indicating restrictions on release of data: 1 = health restriction, 2 = safety restriction
First Name	Text	32	Child’s first name
Middle Name	Text	32	Child’s middle name
Last Name	Text	32	Child’s last name
Suffix	Text	8	Child’s name suffix, if any (e.g. Jr., II, etc.)
DOB	Date	8	Child’s date of birth
DOB Date Status	Numeric	1	0=Known accurate date 1=Estimated date with documentation 2=Estimated date with no verification (e.g., parent card) 3=Estimated unreliable date (e.g., based on memory)
Date Deceased	Date	8	Date child died
Date Deceased Status	Numeric	1	0=Known accurate date 1=Estimated date with documentation 2=Estimated date with no verification (e.g., parent card) 3=Estimated unreliable date (e.g., based on memory)
Child’s Gender	Numeric	1	0 = Unknown 1 = Female 2 = Male 3 = Other
Child’s State of Birth	Text	3	2 character abbreviation of state OR 3 character country code
Mother’s First Name	Text	32
Mother’s Middle Name	Text	32
Mother’s Last Name	Text	32
Mother’s Name Suffix	Text	8
Mother’s Maiden Name	Text	32	Child’s mother’s maiden name
Mother’s HbsAg Status	Numeric	1	0 = Unknown 1 = Positive 2 = Negative 3 = Adolescent
Address1 – Line 1	Text	50	Street name, number and direction/PO Box #
Address1 – Line 2	Text	50	Additional Address – Apt #, Suite #, Space #, etc.
Address1 – City	Text	32	Name of City
Address1 – State	Text	2	Two character state abbreviation.
Address1 – Zip	Text	12	If only 5 digit zip, pad with blanks, not zeros.
Address1 Type	Numeric	2	Type of address: 0=Unknown 1=Home 2=Work 3=2nd Home 4=2nd Work 5=Spouse 6=Spouse Work 7=Mailing 8=Email 9=2nd Email 10= Parent/Guardian 11=2nd Parent/Guardian 12=Billing
Address2 – Line 1	Text	50	Street name, number and direction/PO Box #
Address2 – Line 2	Text	50	Additional Address – Apt #, Suite #, Space #, etc.
Address2 – City	Text	32	Name of City
Address2 – State	Text	2	Two character state abbreviation.
Address2 – Zip	Text	12	If only 5 digit zip, pad with blanks, not zeros.
Address2 Type	Numeric	2	Type of address: 0=Unknown 1=Home 2=Work 3=2nd Home 4=2nd Work 5=Spouse 6=Spouse Work 7=Mailing 8=Email 9=2nd Email 10= Parent/Guardian 11=2nd Parent/Guardian 12=Billing
First Phone Number	Text	20	Contact telephone for this child
First Phone Extension	Text	16	Phone extension for this number, if any
First Phone Type	Numeric	2	Type of telephone number: 0=Unknown 1=Home 2=Work 3=Cell 4=Mobile 5=Fax 6=Pager 7=Alt. Home 8=Alt. Work 9=Home Fax 10=Spouse 11=Spouse Work 12=Spouse Cell 13=Spouse Fax 14=Message 15= Day-time
Second Phone Number	Text	20	Contact telephone for this child
Second Phone Extension	Text	16	Phone extension for this number, if any
Second Phone Type	Numeric	2	Type of telephone number: 0=Unknown 1=Home 2=Work 3=Cell 4=Mobile 5=Fax 6=Pager 7=Alt. Home 8=Alt. Work 9=Home Fax 10=Spouse 11=Spouse Work 12=Spouse Cell 13=Spouse Fax 14=Message 15= Day-time
Child’s Race	Numeric	2	Based on Oregon Health Division Vital Statistics birth records codes: 0 = Other Asian or Pacific Islander 1 = White (includes Mexican, Puerto Rican, Caucasian) 2 = Black or African American 3 = Indian (American, Alaskan, Canadian and Mexican Indian, Eskimo, and Aleut) 4 = Chinese 5 = Japanese 6 = Hawaiian (includes part Hawaiian) 7 = Other races 8 = Filipino 9 = Other or not classifiable 99= Multi-ethnic
Ethnicity	Numeric	2	Based on Oregon Health Division Vital Statistics birth records codes: 0=Non-Hispanic 1=Mexican 2=Puerto Rican 3=Cuban 4=Central or South American 5=Other & unknown Hispanic 6=Not classifiable
Language Written/Read	Numeric	3	See language codes
Language Spoken	Numeric	3	See language codes
SSN	Text	9	Child’s Social Security Number – ######### (no dashes – leave blank, not zeros – if unknown)
Medicaid Number	Text	16	Medicaid number assigned to this family
Clinic Site	Text	14	Location of primary care
Provider Name	Text	64	Name of primary care provider
Date of Last Update	Date	8	Date this record last modified or entered in your system
Date deleted	Date	8	The date this record was deleted from your database
Delete Reason	Numeric	1	1=Error correction 2=moved 3=moved out of state 4=deceased 5=left plan 6=other

2. Vaccination Data
Data Elements	Field Type	Field Size	Description
ID	Text	32	The patient ID from the originating system.
Record Type	Numeric	1	0 = Vaccination 2 = Adverse Reaction 3 = Contra-indication 4 = Precaution 6 = Had the disease 7 = Refused vaccination
Record Identifier	Text	32	Unique ID for this record within your database
Vaccination Record Flags	Numeric	1	None defined
Vaccine	Numeric	4	HL7/CVX Code for vaccine
Dose Number	Numeric	2	Number of the shot in a series
Dose Amount	Text	8	Amount of vaccine administered
Manufacturer	Text	4	Code for Manufacturer of vaccine: http://www.cdc.gov/nip/registry/hl7/hl7-mvx.htm
Lot Number	Text	16	Manufacturer’s production lot number
Immunization Administration Site	Text	8	Where administered on patient’s body: https://www.immalert.org/files/docs/dataexchange/adminsite-codes.asp
Immunization Administration Route	Text	8	Route of administration: https://www.immalert.org/files/docs/dataexchange/adminroute-codes.asp
Immunization Date	Date	8	Date Immunization administered
Immunization Date Status	Numeric	1	0=Known accurate date 1=Estimated date with documentation 2=Estimated date with no verification (e.g., parent card) 3=Estimated unreliable date (e.g., based on memory)
VFC Eligibility	Numeric	2	Patient’s VFC eligibility at the time of treatment: *Providers can use either ALERT numeric codes or VFC alpha codes See VFC Eligibility Codes
Vaccine Given By	Text	64	Name of person administering vaccine
Clinic Site	Text	14	Location where this vaccination given
Date of Last Update	Date	8	Date this record last modified or entered
Date deleted	Date	8	Indicates the date this record was deleted from your database
Reason deleted	Numeric	1	Code – 1 = Error correction

4. Alias Names
Data Elements	Field Type	Field Size	Description
ID	Text	32	Client system’s identifier for child.
First Name	Text	32	Child’s alternative first name
Middle Name	Text	32	Child’s alternative middle name
Last Name	Text	32	Child’s alternative last name
Suffix	Text	8	Child’s alternative name suffix, if any (e.g. Jr., II, etc.)
Date of last update	Date	8	Last time this record updated
Delete Date	Date	8	Date this alias record deleted

Related Data Exchange Documentation: Data Exchange Guidelines Frequently Asked Questions VFC Eligibility Codes Data Field List Country Codes Language Codes Administration Site Codes Administration Route Codes