We also must not ignore the complexity of integrated record development and annual maintenance of these documents,

including the annual procurement and periodic revision processes as well as more complex discussions of sustainable financing across contributing programmes, all of which inherently creates scenarios of increased risk of stock-outs or shortages of cards for the annual birth cohort. Good clinical and public health practice benefits from good documentation standards that reflect the importance of complete, timely, and accurate recording of information. Immunization programme documentation standards, Quizartinib as reflected by our review of home-based vaccination records, differ substantially from country to country

and at times within countries. Implementation of documentation standards and operational HKI-272 concentration practice in the field likely varies even more so. Our review assessed the content of cards based on instructions and content as printed and cannot detect variations in field use which likely exist (e.g., stamps that might be used in some fields or practices of recording additional information in a field such as recording lot number in a column labelled “comments”). The World Health Organization is currently refining guidelines for the content and basic structure of home-based child vaccination records. Although that work is on-going, we would like to highlight the following items which are almost certainly to be reflected in the guidelines

in as much as these are derived from general principles of high quality medical records, whether paper- or computer-based. • Perhaps unique to home-based paper records, the physical medium (e.g., water- and tear-resistant paper, heavier card stock paper) used for the document is important to consider given the often harsh conditions to which the document is exposed. Alternatively or in addition, a protective sheath or sleeve can be considered to protect the record. In summary, the role of the home-based vaccination record as basic medical record is clear. The different forms of home-based child vaccination records Thalidomide [7] reflects integration with other child survival programme areas; however, it remains an open question as to whether there are related adverse impacts on the quality of documentation following receipt of immunization services. We expect home-based vaccination records to continue to evolve particularly with respect to adoption of new and more effective designs and incorporation of technology such as use of bar codes or embedded microchips to facilitate transitions to electronic based systems.